Winners and Losers
by cyke93
Summary: Set in the first episode, where Lucas and Nathan played one on one. What if Nathan purposely lost? And only him and Haley know why. A little something for Valentine's day but def. not a fluff piece. Rated M for sexual content
1. Chapter 1

Winners and Losers 

Summary: Set in the first episode, where Lucas and Nathan played one on one. What if Nathan purposely lost? And only him and Haley know why.

So I'm still frustrated with last night's episode and I couldn't focus on writing the next chapters in my other stories but since it is Valentine's Day, this idea just came to me. I wouldn't call this a fluff piece but it does have Naley in it. If people like it, I might continue it, but it's not high on priority.

This actually came out a lot better than I had planned, I hoped you liked it too. I'd also like to say in regards to season 5, as much as I am annoyed at Mark, I do give him props for getting me worked up like this. I may not like what's been going on but this season has been pretty top notch and he's still able to rile up a lot of people, that in itself is a success. I think the stars aligned for Mark and OTH. He gave us probably the best season finale ever in OTH in season 4. With OTH delayed until January, it built hype from the finale and since it was fast forwarding 4 years, it also peaked people's interest. The DVD's were released for all seasons and I know I got my S1-3 for dirt cheap. Then with the writer's strike, it gave an urgency to really enjoy the episodes we have now and to really build momentum to get a season 6. So even though the strike will probably give us only 18-19 episodes instead of 21-22, I think that all these things coupled with the great writing of Season 5 really revitalized the show and hopefully it'll let the network see that this show still has legs. That's my rant, Enjoy and please review !!

--

Rivercourt – Nathan Scott vs. Lucas Scott

_He's good I give him that much,_ Nathan thought to himself as he dribbled his way down the court. Nathan went for the fade away and once again both brothers were tied. The whole game was pretty intense. Everyone watched from the sidelines with sweaty palms and butterflies in their stomach. First to 15 takes it all and right now it was 14-14 with Lucas in possession of the ball.

You could feel the tension in the air and cut it with a knife. If this night taught anyone anything, it was to expect the unexpected. Could Lucas Scott, bastard son of Dan Scott, possibly beat the Raven's star player, his own half brother? They were soon about to find out. With each dribble, Lucas felt the pressure on him, from the faces of the people who weren't lucky enough to call themselves popular or pretty. He was an outcast just like them but this time, one of their own was going to stick it to those who've always looked down on him.

From the corner of his eye, Nathan saw Haley biting her lower lip. _She always does that when she's nervous_, he thought. And for a moment he contemplated what she told him earlier. Nathan saw Lucas about to take the shot and Nathan knew he could easily block it and steal it from him. The ball left Lucas' hands and Nathan only had a second to decide what to do.

-- Flashback --

Haley took a deep breath and walked over to Nathan's locker.

"Well if it isn't Haley James." Nathan said with a grin. "I didn't expect to see you here, in fact I don't think I saw you since the 8th grade." It was a mostly true statement. He did see her, but it far and few in between in his opinion and she was always with _him._

"Funny, Nathan we got to the same school." She tried to brush him off.

"We definitely don't go to the same school." Nathan closed his locker. Ever since Haley entered high school, she was placed in all honors classes and all honors classes took place on the eastern wing of the school. She spent most, if not all of her time there at school. Besides her classmates in her honors classes, she really didn't know too many other "regular" students. It was like Nathan said, it was as if they were two separate schools in Tree Hill High.

"So what brings you here?" Nathan asked.

"Lucas." She said bluntly.

"Figures."

She pulled his arm and brought him to an empty classroom.

"What're you doing? Aren't you afraid that your _boyfriend_ will see us?" He teased.

Haley sighed. "He's not my boyfriend.. Lucas is my best friend."

"I don't understand how you can be friends with him."

"And I can't believe how you two are brothers."

"We're not brothers!" Nathan was quick to respond.

"Look Nathan.. about this game tonight."

"The one I'm going to win." He shot back.

"No, the one you're going to lose."

"And why would I lose."

"Because Lucas is going to beat you." But even as she said that, she wasn't so sure.

Nathan scoffed and chuckled, as if that was ever going to happen.

"Lucas loves the game just as much as you do.. he deserves to play."

"And who's to stop him.. he can play all he wants.."

"For the Ravens." She added.

"Not if I have anything to do about it."

"We'll see about that." She glared at him and crossed her arms.

"Why are you here again?" Nathan shot his eyebrow up.

"I came to make you a deal.. let Lucas win."

Immediately Nathan started to laugh. "Why would I do that? I win.. he's quitting the team."

Haley took a deep breath. "If he wins ……."

Nathan swallowed the lump in his throat. The stakes have definitely been raised.

-- End Flashback --

The ball left Lucas' hands and Nathan hesitated before jumping to block it, but by then the basket already went in and the crowd went while. Immediately, Nathan took a step back as swarms of people descended on him. He looked around to see Haley and then he saw her, giving a hug to Lucas. Their eyes met only for a second before she looked away.

Nathan left quickly, the ride home blurred. He took a shower, trying to wash away all he'd done tonight. He'd just risked it all.. and it was all for her. Nathan came out of the bathroom and put on a pair of boxers and basketball shorts and then crashed on his bed. His arms around the back of his head, he stared up at the ceiling. In the darkness, he laid still, waiting in anticipation, his heart slowly beating but at the same time, pounding loudly.

Then the door to his room slowly opened and the light from the hallway shone through.

"I didn't think you showed." He said turning to her.

"I didn't think you'd go through with it." Haley responded.

"You're not afraid that he really did win?" He turned and sat on his bed now.

Closing the door behind her, she locked it before stepping forward. The room was dark but faint light still crept in from the outside.

She bit her lower lip and hesitantly took another step forward. "I know." She stated simply. She unzipped her hoody and tossed it aside and then kicking off her shoes. Her hand reached for her jeans and she hesitated a moment before she saw Nathan's eyes go wide open. His heart pounded a mile a minute and all his blood headed south. As she slipped them off, Nathan had to remember to breath. He stood up now and Haley saw the effect she was having on him. He moved closer to her.

"You don't have to do this." He whispered, holding onto his last bit of restraints.

She only continued to bite her lower lip and the two of them stood there in silence for a moment. Then her hand reached for her shirt and as she lifted them off, she felt his hands touched hers as he helped her remove it. Unable to hold back any longer, he caressed her soft cheeks and his lips moved forward and captured hers. He pressed softly, not wanting to rush it, his tongue sought permission to go further and Haley granted it.

Unable to hold back her own feelings, she kissed back harder and their arms found their way around each other. Their lips parted and Nathan hungrily attacked her neck. "Nathan." She softly moaned. His hands roamed her back and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the ground. She tugged at his waist and just like that his shorts and boxers were gone. She tried her best not to look, but she did and her breathing only became more erratic as his body pushed up against hers, feeling every bit of him. His lips were now back on hers and they slowly made their way to his bed. Nathan laid on his back while Haley was on top of them and then Nathan flipped them both over and now he was on top of her. His lips separated from hers and he sat up to take in her full beauty. There was only one piece of garment still separating them and his hands roamed her side until they reached the band of her silk panties. Slowly and gently, he peeled it off.

"I've.. I've never done this." She said softly, her voice shaky.

Nathan gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her gently, as if saying "It's going to be okay." His hand reached for his nightstand, where he pulled out a condom. He placed it on her hands and summoning all his strength, he sat back up. Their bodies now separated and already Haley missed the feel of his warm body against his. He looked at her intently and she looked back. She didn't see lust in his eyes but only concern and that's when she knew she was ready. She ripped open the package and sat up, bringing her hands over to him.

_Thank God for health class. _She thought to herself as she placed it over him. Nathan felt as if he was going to go right there and then.

"I think I need a bigger one." She whispered a little bit of wariness in her voice, as she continued to slip it on.

He smiled and smirked at her, using all his willpower not to go over the edge. She saw the smirk on his face and almost wished she hadn't said that. His hands went over hers as he helped her finish putting it on. Once completed, he kissed her again and gently laid her back on the bed. Now on top of her, he felt her breasts against his chest and the pounding in her heart. She spread her legs for him, telling him she was ready. He ran his fingers through her hair as he slowly pushed his hips forward. Haley's body was going wild and Nathan was taking his time. She pushed her hips forward, urging him to go on. She squirmed and Nathan couldn't think he could get turned on even more. But this was completely different, he was in by no means in any rush.

He slowly pushed forward, ever so gently. His eyes never left hers. He saw the flash of pain across her face as he pushed in deeper. He wanted to pull back but her hands landed on his back and encouraged him to go further. But the pain soon subsided and waves of pleasure came washing over her. Once fully inside, Haley couldn't take it anymore as she came over the edge. Her nails dug into his back and she softly moaned his name. His lips crashed onto hers as he slowly started to rock back and forth, slowly at first. Her emotions were wild and she experienced things she never thought was possible and even after so soon she felt the walls inside of her closing in on itself again. Then it came and this time so did Nathan. "Haley." He moaned her name as he kissed her once more.

Later…

Outside it was still dark and their naked bodies still intertwined with each other. Both satisfied and thoroughly spent. Haley knew she shouldn't be here even though it felt so right to be wrapped in Nathan's arms. Thinking he'd fallen asleep, she gently escaped his embrace and now sat on the foot on the bed. She was about to get up when his arm wrapped around her stomach.

"I should go." She said barely above a whisper. She turned to him and he was now sitting up.

"All this.. for _him_?" He looked at her with such intensity. She didn't know how he said so much in one look. She gently nodded, only partially the truth. She saw the slight hurt in his eyes, which she knew would only grow if she left now. Succumbing to her own feelings, she didn't want to.

"But I'm going to do this for me." She said honestly as she turned back around and kissed him. She straddled him and the two continued to kiss, his hand running through her long hair.

"I'm sorry you lost tonight." She whispered.

"Believe me, I'm the one who came out a winner." He said before flipping her over, the two bodies now one once more.

To End/TBC ? I'll see how feedback goes.


	2. Chapter 2

Winners and Losers

Based off the feedback and re-reading chapter 1, I really like the whole concept and thought about it over the past few days and decided to continue it. I left some details very vague in Chapter 1, which was on purpose, as a one shot, I kinda wanted you guys to interpret what exactly the back story was. Now that I'm going to continue, you'll gradually find out about everything. This chapter sheds a little light into that. I hope you enjoy, thank you for the great responses and please keep them coming.

---

Haley woke up almost in a panic, thoughts of forgotten homework and essays due consumed her mind, that was until she realized that today was Saturday and not a school day. She rested her head back down and realized that, what she was resting on was certainly not a pillow nor the fact that she was even in her own house. The events from last night came rushing to her and she looked up to find Nathan already awake.

He woke up not too long ago and just stared at the brown haired girl sleeping on his chest. He'd never had such a restful or satisfying night. He smiled to himself as he thought about what happened between the two of them. He was her first and he couldn't help but take pride in it. Nathan Scott was the only one in the world who got to experience pure pleasure with Haley James and a little voice inside his head told him that he should be the only one she shares her body with. But she share, she gave her body to him and wondered if she had given him her heart as well. This made him think back to his first time. He shuddered at the thought and pushed that painful memory in the dark recesses of his mind. Right now, he was truly happy and no one could take this moment from him, well maybe except Haley herself.

"Your awake."

"Is that a question or are you just really observant?" Nathan smirked. Already she looked annoyed at his comments and he couldn't help but think she looked so cute when she was mad. His smiled grew wider as he leaned down and kissed her. She started to loose herself once more but pulled back. Resting her forehead against his, she composed herself and steadied her breathing. She was about to get out of bed when Nathan held her arm in place.

"I.. I should go."

"Stay."

"I already stayed longer than I should've." She released herself from his grasp, taking a blanket and wrapping it around her body. She heard her phone vibrate and she reached into the pocket of her jeans and quickly ended the call. With the look on her face, he already knew who it was.

"Was it him?"

She simply nodded as she continued to put on her clothes. "We're supposed to have breakfast." Not wanting to look at Nathan.

"And you're supposed to be with me." He stated and she stopped what she was doing and saw the serious expression on his face.

"This was a mistake…"

"So last night was a mistake?" He quickly fired back and got up and slipped his boxers on.

"Yes.. no.. I mean I can't be here."

"With me?" He walked up to her.

"Especially with you."

"You can't just sleep with me and then take off."

"That's really funny, coming from you."

He gritted his teeth and grew angry, mostly because she was right. "That's different."

"Why? Cuz you're a guy.. please."

"No cuz they didn't mean anything to me."

"And I mean something?"

"You already know the answer." He stated.

"Well you have a funny way of showing it these past few years!"

Nathan bit his tongue, he really hated it when she was right. "You know how long I've wanted you."

"Just cuz you're the first guy that kissed me, doesn't mean you have any sort of claim to me!!"

"I'm the first for many things and second and third and fou.."

"Enough!" Haley grew terribly red. And he smirked back, knowing he had hit a nerve.

"Do you honestly think I'm just going to let you go?" He added.

"If you care for me… yes."

Nathan wasn't quite sure how to respond because the truth was he did care, which made it all the more difficult.

"So you can run off with your boyfriend."

"How many times do I have to say this, he's not my boy…" But her words got cut off as he leaned down and kissed her again. His lips pressed hard and he poured everything he had in that kiss. Their lips parted and she was breathless once more. "You know how much I want you." He said seductively as she looked down.

"I have to meet Lucas." She broke off from him. And with the sound of his voice, he immediately felt a knife through his heart.

Grabbing her hoddie off the floor she reached unlocked the door.

"If you leave here.. he's going to be the one to pay."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked with a little bit of fear in her voice.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." He threatened and immediately she felt shivers down her spine.

"You wouldn't." She glared.

"Just watch."

And the two just stared at each other before Haley turned the knob and left. As the door slammed shut, he already felt his heart breaking into a million pieces. He looked out from the window and saw her take off down the street.

_Lucas is going to pay for this. _

Meanwhile downstairs, Dan Scott came home in the early morning from a business trip. He was so tired, he passed out in his chair in the study. He wiped his eyes and regretted not spending the night. He was so tired he thought was starting to see things, like a brown haired girl walk right past him.

---

Two days later.

The school was abuzz over Lucas defeating Nathan in the one on one game. Lucas' first official practice was yesterday and Haley hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him yet. She walked up to Lucas's locker.

"Hey.. how's was .." But her mouth fell silent as Lucas turned around and saw a bruise on his cheek.

"Lucas.. what happened?"

"We were playing a scrimmage at practice.. things got a little rough." He tried to play it off.

"A little rough!!." Haley said and then a sinking feeling came to her. "Who.. who did this?"

"No one."

"Lucas." She glared at him.

"Look.. fine it was Nathan ok." Immediately, she felt shock, anger and most of all guilt.

"I was guarding him and his elbow…"

"Don't make excuses for him?" She glared back, anger definitely taking over.

"Look Hales, it's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Did you see yourself in the mirror?"

"Look.. maybe he's still sore about me beating him don't worry.. it's over."

"Why do I have a feeling that it just begun?"

"Hales.. look I'm fine.. if it wasn't Nathan.. it could've been any of the other guys."

But she stopped listening as she saw Nathan from the corner of her eye and their eyes locked. "That son of a …" Haley muttered.

"Hey.. hey look at me.. (Haley turned back to Lucas) ... look it's okay really. I mean it's not like this was your fault, I'm going to be fine."

She forced a smile and nodded. Things were definitely not fine she knew the reason why… _her_.

To Be Continued . . . .

So yes, I am continuing this story. I sort of lied when I put down in "Thicker than Blood" that Nathan was the Nathan of season 1, that "Blood Nathan" is really just overly cocky but not really a jerk. As you will in this story, that Nathan is very much a jerk, but hopefully a likable jerk, but one thing is constant, Haley. I updated this so soon because I wanted people to know that there was something that happened between Nathan and Haley. So please review and let me know what you think and any suggestions, etc etc.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Thank you guys for the reviews. Please keep them coming! I know many of you are wondering what happened between Nathan and Haley and this chapter offers a little insight. Enjoy and please review!

--

Haley was putting the trash bags off to the side.

"You don't have to do this Haley."

_Believe me I want to_¸ Haley told herself. "It's okay Luke." Haley tried to smile.

In one week, Nathan has single handily made Lucas' life a living hell. One day, hetook Lucas' clothes while he was in the showers. The next day he put said clothes in the toilet. Then there was the constant ribbing he got from the other guys on the team. The latest incident was something Haley wasn't expecting and she knew it struck Lucas to the core. In the dead of night, Nathan and his friends went to the rivercourt and completely trashed the place. It pained her to see Lucas suffer and she felt completely guilty about the whole thing. She should've never went to Nathan, she should've never made that offer.

-- Flashback --

_"Why are you here again?" Nathan shot his eyebrow up. _

_"I came to make you a deal.. let Lucas win." _

_Immediately Nathan started to laugh. "Why would I do that? I win.. he's quitting the team." _

_Haley took a deep breath. "If he win, then I'll let you have what you really want." _

_"Really, what is that?" _

_"Me." _

_Nathan stood there unsure of what to do and what to say. Only Haley James could do this to him. _

_"I don't want you." He lied. _

_"Ok.. then my mistake." Haley turned around. _

_"Wait!" He called out. _

_"What do you mean exactly?" _

_"Let Lucas win tonight and I'll come over." _

_"And then what?" _

_"I'll let you do whatever you want to me." She softly whispered in his ears before taking off. _

_Nathan swallowed the lump in his throat. The stakes have definitely been raised. _

_-- _

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Lucas wanted to play and he finally had his chance. Nathan was the only one stopping him but she had her chance to stop him. But she was selfish as well, she wanted Nathan. She wanted him for as long as she could remember but held back. It was no secret Nathan Scott was a player and roamed from girl to girl, even when he was dating his most recent girlfriend, Peyton Sawyer. To the world, that's how they saw Nathan Scott, basketball hotshot and heart breaker. To her, she would always be that sweet little boy. He had changed yes, but she knew he was still there, she felt it when she was with him.

Even now when she was angry and hurt by him, she still wanted him. He was a bad habit that she couldn't kick. This could all end, all she had to do was give into Nathan's demands and then her best friend wouldn't have to suffer. She still didn't know what Nathan had against Lucas. She knew he didn't like her friendship with Lucas and she was pretty sure he felt threatened by Luke on the court. They never knew of each other only until a few years ago. She remembered when Nathan found out that her best friend turned out to be none other than his half brother, well it didn't go well. Lucas was her best friend, Nathan was this guy who mysteriously showed up at random points in her life. They were never friends, not really but she felt a strange connection to him, something that never waned over the years.

She wondered how she got into this mess. Before she found out they were brothers, Haley never felt the need to tell Lucas about Nathan. It's not like she hung out with Nathan all the time, far from it. When she ran into Nathan it was few and far in between and she didn't feel like she was hiding anything from Lucas. She once told him that she thought that Damien West looked cute and Lucas flipped. After that she figured it was safe to keep her crushes to herself. After she found out that Nathan was Lucas' brother, she really didn't want to tell him. And now she was stuck, in every sense of the word.

"I'm serious Haley.. you don't need to clean up Nathan's mess."

"Just mine." She muttered.

"What you say?"

"I said I don't mind… I just wish this whole stupid thing would stop."

"You and I both.. I just have to hang in there.. pretty soon, they'll get bored and move on to the next thing." Lucas tried to reassure Haley. But she knew her bestfriend too well, he was on the breaking point and so was she.

--

Haley looked at the clock and around the empty tutor center. She saw the schedule on the bulletin board, there would be no one else here except her. She was expecting a new student to tutor. She looked at the paper and wondered if she knew a James Lafferty. She looked at her watch again, _only 7 minutes late._ She went back to her books and continued to do her homework. Another 8 minutes passed by when she heard the door open and close.

Not bothering to turn around, she continued writing in her notebook. With everything that was going on with Lucas and Nathan, she was certainly not in a good mood.

"Your 15 minutes late." She said, not taking her eyes off the paper.

"I'm sorry, I got held up at practice." A familiar voice said and she suddenly felt chills down her spine. Only one person could do that to her.

"Nathan." She whispered as she turned around. He reached for the door and locked it.

"Wha.. what're you doing here?" She asked nervously. ".. I don't have time for this.. I'm expecting another student."

"Let me guess.. a Mr. James Lafferty."

"Yeah.. how do you … oh no.. please don't tell me."

The smirk on Nathan's face only proved it.

"James huh?" Haley stated. "Very funny."

"Lafferty is my grandmother's middle name."

"Aren't you clever?"

"I knew you wouldn't take me on if I used my real name."

"You're right about that."

"Look, Nathan .. what do you want?"

"I came for tutoring."

"Very funny.. I'll find you another tutor."

"I want you." He said with a serious look.

"I can't tutor you."

"Can't or won't."

"Both."

"You don't want to be with me .. and now you won't tutor me.. all this for him.. and you say he's not your boyfriend."

"He isn't." She let out a sigh of frustration. She was tired of the same argument for the past 3 years. "Why do you keep messing with Lucas? The river court Nathan? That's low even for you."

"I told you he'd pay."

"Why?! Why does everything have to be about him?! He didn't do anything to you."

"He was born.. that's enough." Nathan only said half the truth. "It's going to get worse." He said softly.

"You wouldn't." She said softly.

"That's what you said last time." He replied.

He walked over to her and reached out to caress her hair. She flinched at first but stayed completely still. He leaned his forehead to hers. "I don't want to keep hurting you .. but you're giving me no choice."

"Why?" She said softly.

"Because you came to me.. you started this .. I need you." Before she could respond his lips were on hers. Loosing herself, she wrapped her arms around him. He did the same, not wanting to do anymore unless it was what she wanted. He felt her tug at his shirt and he broke his lips apart from hers so that he could remove it. In the process she let go of hers. Their lips locked again and she muttered. "Condom."

Nathan reached into his back pocket to get his wallet, hoping it was there and it was. Shedding the rest of their clothes, Haley helped him slip it on and before she knew it, her back was on the table with Nathan on top of her. This was different than the last time, he was slow and gentle. This time, it was fast and hard and both were trying to keep up with each other. Their climaxing building, they both went over the edge at the same time.

Nathan lied on top of Haley, both of them trying to catch their breathes. She moved away from him and in silence they both put their clothes back on. Once they were dressed, Haley went over to unlock the door.

"You should go." She said.

"Haley."

"Please."

"When can I see you again?"

"You won't."

Nathan's heart sank, but his determination was still as steadfast. "I'll back off.. for now.. you have until Thursday to change your mind."

He grabbed his stuff and she opened the door. He walked out and she closed the door behind her. She leaned back against the wall and sank down to her knees, tears in her eyes. Nathan stood there on the other side, hearing her cry. He closed his own eyes fighting the urge to go back there and hold her and comfort her like he did all those years ago.

--Flashback--

10 year old Nathan Scott walked along the beach collecting seashells. There in a distance he saw another girl, about his age sitting down. As he walked closer, he realized who she was and wondered why she was crying.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked.

Haley looked up and wiped the tears from here eyes. She simply nodded and he took a seat next to her.

"Want to tell me about it?"

"My mom told me not to talk to strangers." She teased.

"I'm not a stranger!" Nathan protested.

"You're just strange." She tried to laugh.

His blue eyes sent her a glaring look. Looking at the seashells in his hands, her eyes started to water.

"What's wrong?"

"Shelly died."

"Who's Shelly?"

"My pet turtle."

"Oh.. I'm sorry. I used to have a hamster named Chester."

"What happened to him?"

"He ran away."

"Were you sad?"

"A little, but my dad bought me a new basketball and told me I would always have that."

"I wish I had Shelly. My sister is so mean." She tried to hold back the tears.

"Why is she mean?"

"She flushed Shelly down the toilet. I didn't even get to say bye." Haley's eyes watered again. "I yelled at her but she doesn't care. Mommy and Daddy won't be coming home until later so I'm stuck with Taylor. I wish my mommy was here, she would make me feel better."

"I'm sorry, is there anything I can do to help? What would your mom do?"

"She would probably give me a hug and tell me everything would be okay."

Just like that Nathan placed his arms around Haley. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"Ohh.. well when my mommy is sad, my dad gives her a kiss… maybe I can give you a kiss?"

"Okay."

Nathan leaned in gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Better?"

She smiled. "A little."

--

Nathan waited there in the empty hallway until he heard her stop crying. He heard her gather her things and slowly she opened the door. Haley saw Nathan standing out there, she wasn't surprised. She knew he was there.

"Let me take you home." He muttered.

She said nothing and walked with him through the empty hallways and vacant lot to his car.

He pulled up to her house, still not a word spoken between them.

"I'm not trying to hurt you." He said softly.

"Then stop! Stop hurting me! Stop hurting your brother!" She said angrily and slammed the door behind her. Nathan tried to shake it off and put his car back into gear and drove off. Just then Lucas was turning the corner to see Haley and he could've sworn he saw Nathan's car.

To Be Continued . . .

So I hoped this chapter sheds a little light into Haley and Nathan's past. Exactly what happened in the past will become more evident in the upcoming chapters. I don't want to give too much away. This is definitely a different OTH, much darker than most of my other stories. I have the next few chapters already lined up in my head but I am curious to see what the readers think of the chapter and where the story will go and what they think happened between Nathan and Haley. Thanks again for the support and please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Winners and Losers

Chapter 4

Thank you guys for the reviews, please keep them coming. For the most part, with each chapter, you'll find out something new that happened between Nathan and Haley. I hoped you enjoy the chapter and please review!

--

Lucas entered the James' house and went upstairs to Haley's room. He turned the knob but was surprised to find it locked. He knocked. "Hales!" He called out. Haley was in her bathroom, staring in the mirror looking at her puffy eyes. She splashed some cold water on her face and toweled herself dry. "Coming!"

Haley opened the door trying to put on a normal demeanor. "Hey Luke." She tried to sound upbeat.

He gave her a curious look, noticing the red in her eyes, _was she crying?_ "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.. I didn't get much sleep last night and I think my allergies are acting up ..anyways what brings you by?" She tried to change the topic and hoped it worked.

"Nothing I just wanted to say hi .. I know we haven't hung out that much since I joined the team.."

"No, Luke it's fine believe me."

"Hales, you sure you're okay?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I'm your bestfriend Hales.. I know these things.. now what's going on?"

"I don't want to bother you.. especially with everything going on."

"Don't give me that.. c'mon I want to help."

"It's just been a long day and there was this guy.."

"Guy?"

Haley took a deep breath. "Yeah.. this guy I have to tutor." She tried to play it off.

"Didn't go well?"

She shook her head. "He's an ass." Haley said bluntly.

Lucas laughed. "He can't be that bad.. I mean no one's a bigger ass than Nathan, right." Lucas tried to joke and Haley instantly laughed, not because it was funny but because it was the only way to disguise the tear that came down her face.

Wiping her eyes, Haley smiled. "Thanks Luke.. I needed that."

"I didn't think it was that funny."

"Well you just put things in perspective."

"Do I know this guy?"

"No.. you don't." It was only half a lie, he really didn't know Nathan at all. She liked to think that she was the only one that really knew him.

"What's his name, I'll beat him up if he tries to mess with you again." He joked back.

"It's okay Luke I got this." Haley immediately responded.

"Fine don't tell me who he is .. you know I'll find out sooner or later."

_Hopefully never. _

"So I'm going to get going .. you want to hang out this later.." Lucas added.

"Yeah sounds good."

"I get out of practice early on Thursday.. you wanna catch a movie."

"Yeah, that's sounds great."

--

Thursday came and Haley waited outside the movie theatre. Lucas had texted her earlier saying that he would meet her there. She glanced at her watch. If he wasn't here soon, they were going to miss the previews, which would suck because if the movie sucked, at least they know what movies might be coming out that might be worth watching.

--Flashback--

Thirteen year old Haley James roamed around Tree Hill. It was summer and it was hot and Haley was completely bored. She just returned from vacation with her family but her best friend, Lucas also left with his mom to go on vacation. It seemed as if the whole town went away on vacation just as she came back. She walked through the main streets of Tree Hill, trying to find something to do. Then she saw him on the opposite side of the street.

It was Nathan, she remembered one summer three years ago where she spent a few weeks at a beach house her parents rented. Nathan was there too with his family. They would often play together on the beach or go swimming. She smiled when she remembered how he comforted her when she lost her turtle. After that summer, she didn't see him much. At random times, they would spot each other in the grocery store or something. From a distance they would give each other a warm smile or a friendly wave and once and a while when their paths actually did cross, they spoke but never too long. They were the same age but attended different schools. He attended Tree Hill Primary across town while she attended Tree Hill Academy. They ran in different circles, different crowds but next year at the start at high school, she was sure they would attend Tree Hill High School together.

Nathan saw her and smiled and ran across the street. She looked up at him, he seemed to have grown taller since the last time she saw him.

"Hey Nathan."

"Hey Haley.. how's it going?"

"Ehh bored actually.. how are you? Haven't seen you in a while?"

"I know. . I'm okay I guess.. I'm bored too.. most of my friends are out of town right now.."

"Tell me about it."

"You want to do something?" He asked, hoping she'd say yes.

"Sure."

"Umm.. what do you have in mind?"

"I dunno.. it's getting hot.. how about a movie?"

"Sound good."

They walked together to the nearby theatre and purchased their tickets.

"Come on Haley, we're going to miss the previews." Nathan whined.

"Wait.. I want popcorn." She paid the cashier and went back to Nathan. Seeing the popcorn, he picked up a box of cracker jacks.

"What's the big rush anyway, the movie won't start for another twenty minutes." Haley asked.

"The previews are like the best part of watching a movie."

"I thought the movie was the best part of .. _the movie_."

He laughed. "See.. if the movie sucks.. then at least we know a couple of other movies that might not."

"Hmm.. that makes sense."

Almost two hours later, they came out of the theatre laughing.

"God that was horrible." Haley said.

"Yeah totally sucked… see aren't you glad we saw the previews."

"Yeah you were right."

"I'm always right." He grinned and Haley couldn't help but melt at the sight. _Stupid teenage hormones. _

Haley laughed, he was right at least there were some movies they previewed that looked promising. Then she still saw the box of cracker jacks Nathan was holding.

"I can't believe you're still eating that." Haley said.

"I can't believe you ate that whole big tub of popcorn!" He shot back.

"Are you calling me fat?"

"No.. but I do wonder where you put it all." Nathan said, inspecting her body.

"Eww gross .. don't look at me like that."

"Like what."

"Like you're checking me out."

"I think you like me checking you out."

They both laughed together. Haley looked at her watch. "Hey I have to go now and meet my parents."

"Yeah.. my dad is waiting for me to practice."

"Practice?"

"Yeah basketball."

"Oh yeah duh… you know I heard that with funding that they might merge our schools sports teams together."

"Really.. you play any sports? Maybe we'll see more of each other."

Haley laughed. "Me and sports don't mix well.. hehe… but are you going to Tree Hill High next year?"

"Yeah .. you?"

Haley nodded. "Great.. maybe we'll have some classes together."

Nathan smiled at the thought. "Hopefuly.." Nathan shook the nearly empty cracker jacks box and heard something jingle. He pulled something out, completely forgetting these things came with a prize. He threw away the box and opened up the package. Inside was a plastic purple bracelet. A disappointed look came across his face, he wanted something cool, nothing so girly. He looked at Haley.

"Here.. this is for you."

"Cool.. the last time I got some fake tattoo with a random number."

She stuck out her hand and Nathan placed it over her wrist. "Don't say I never gave you anything." He grinned.

She smiled back.

"I'll see you around Haley."

"I aint going anywhere.. hehe.. by Nathan."

--

Now she was getting worried, Lucas was never this late. She called him again but only got his voicemail. She stared at the phone and looked at the time and date. _Today is Thursday.. Oh no!_

_-- _

_"When can I see you again?" _

_"You won't." _

_Nathan's heart sank, but his determination was still as steadfast. "I'll back off.. for now.. you have until Thursday to change your mind." _

--

Haley was getting really worried now. She called Karen but told her Lucas wasn't home. Haley sat a nearby bench and waited for another 45 minutes with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Deciding she had to do something, she rushed over to Lucas' house.

--

Lucas was glad the weekend was almost here. He was thankful that this week at practice wasn't as dramatic as before. His clothes were still dry and he had no bruises this week. All in all, he was having a good week. He grabbed his stuff and went home to change before meeting Haley at the theatre. He walked through the dark streets of Tree Hill listening to his iPod. He didn't hear the van that pulled in behind him or his team members coming out. Before it was too late, they kidnapped him and he was gone.

His hands were tied up and his eyes covered. He tried to wrestle free but he couldn't. The van stopped and the guys threw him out, landing in a muddy pond. He looked around him, he was in a middle of muddy field. All four guys were out of the car, there were was Nathan, Tim and two other of their buddies.

Tim and the other guys were taunting Lucas. "Enough!" Nathan said annoyed. He took a step forward looked at Lucas. Lucas was surprised that he wasn't smiling or smirking. He even looked a little sad. _What the hell is going on? _Lucas thought to himself.

"I shouldn't have let you win." Nathan said so softly that only Lucas heard what he said. Although Lucas wasn't even sure if what he heard was correct.

Then Nathan walked away and they all got in the van and drove off. To say Lucas was pissed was an understatement. He had never been more furious in his life. He tried to hold himself together as he made the slow trek back to his house.

Haley waited inside Lucas' room and sat up when she heard the door open. His hair was a mess and he was covered in mud.

"Luke.." She whispered.

"Sorry about the movie.. I got held up." He said taking a seat by his computer.

"Wha… what happened?"

"Nathan kidnapped me .. dragged me out in the middle of nowhere."

"Oh my God Lucas! I'm so sorry."

"Haley.. it's okay.. it's not your fault."

Guilt washed over her. "I can't believe Nathan would do that." She muttered.

"Well I'm not.. I guess I'm lucky he took time out of his busy schedule of screwing whores to come get me." Lucas tried to joke but Haley wasn't laughing. "Look, I'm sorry about tonight but I just want to take a shower and go to sleep." Lucas was just tired of everything.

"You don't need to be sorry.. I have to go now anyways.. I'll see you later." She got up and headed to the door. "And Luke?" She turned around.

"Yeah."

"Things are going to get better… I promise." Haley said as she stepped outside.

--

Nathan lied in bed, completely restless, wrestling between guilt and satisfaction. It was Tim's idea, but Nathan still went through with it. He wondered how he got this way, that harsh memory during his freshmen year played in his mind. He tried to brush it off. He thought about Haley and how he had hurt her again and even this was a new low for him. He dug himself in a hole and he was quickly sinking into it. He couldn't help the things he did, they were like reflex.

He heard the knob on his door turn and the light from the hallway peaked in.

"I was wondering when you'd get here." He said softly not taking his eyes off the ceiling. Haley's fury only grew and she closed the door behind her. Nathan sat up now and looked at her. Her eyes were red and he winced at the sight. He hated to see her cry.

"That's it .. I'm going to tell Lucas everything!"

"And what will that do?" It came out harsher than he intended.

"At least I won't be lying to him anymore!"

"You really think that's going to make things better for him."

"Since when do you ever care about him?!" She shot back.

He smirked. "His supposed best friend has been sleeping with me.. I'm sure he's going to take that real well .. or the fact you've known me for all these years and never bothered to tell him.. I'm sure he'll like that too."

Haley stood there in silence, hating that he was right.

"You're not going to tell him .. and I don't want you too." Nathan stated.

"Why!? So you can just hold this over my head."

"Yes." He said simply standing up. "I don't have to do anything to get to him.. you're doing it all for me and he doesn't even know it." He grinned.

She took off her jacket and threw it on the floor out frustration. She couldn't believe the nerve of him but at the same time she wasn't surprised. "Let's get this over with." She muttered and she grabbed her t-shirt to remove it, tears now rolling down her face. She hated how he was right. In all this everyone would loose if she were to admit to Lucas the truth. She also dug herself into a hole and the only way to keep from sinking was to not tell Lucas, at least that's what she told herself. Nathan stood up pulled the t-shirt back down.

"You don't have to do that." He said more calmly. He hated upsetting Haley, but the mere mention of Lucas always managed to get a rise from him.

"Isn't this why I'm here? To be your whore.."

"Haley.."

"You're right I did start this .. and I'm going to end this… you want me Nathan .. here I am… take me .. I'll be your little slut if that's what it takes!"

Nathan tensed up at her words. "You're not a slut."

"Really? Sleeping with you just so you'd leave Lucas alone .. I couldn't be any more sluttier."

"That would imply that you've been sleeping around with other guys.. Haley .. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?! .. You're sorry .. after what you just said and did to Lucas that's all you can say."

He didn't want to upset her anymore. He knew it was wrong to keep her here just so he would leave Lucas alone. There had to be a better way.

"Tutor me and I promise I'll leave him alone." He said quickly.

"I don't have time for your stupid games Nathan.. just have your way with me already."

"I don't want you like this." He said truthfully. He didn't want to blackmail her into being with him. He wanted her here because she wanted to be. He didn't want her to choose Lucas over him anymore.

"Well, who's fault is that!?"

"I know I'm sorry… you're the best tutor in school, I need help.. do this for me and I promise that I'll back off.. the team will back off."

"Seriously?"

"I won't be much help to the team if I'm on academic probation.. so what do you say?"

"Ok." She said softly. "And this?" She added.

He walked up closer to her. "I'll leave that up to you."

She looked at him and stared into his blue soulful eyes. They looked different tonight, they didn't sparkle or shine, they seemed dark and dull. She took a step back with every intention of walking away. As she neared the door, she stopped. _Keep going_, she told herself. She got what she wanted. All she had to do was tutor him and that would be it. Nathan Scott was many things but she knew he would keep his word, but why was she still here? In that moment she made her choice, her hand reached for the door and locked it.

She was already in too deep and couldn't let go of him. Deep down, she knew she loved him, despite everything he's done. She couldn't help it. He was her first love and she never had closure, nor a beginning either. She was tired of the lies, tired of the hurt. All she wanted was for it to all go away and the only time she ever felt that was with him, only with him.

She reached for her shirt and pulled it off. She tiptoed up to kiss him. He wasn't expecting this but he certainly was complaining. His arms wrapped around her and they lied in bed. She was now on top of him and their lips broke apart and he gently stroked her hair. He didn't know what he did to be so lucky. He still felt guilty. He knew he didn't deserve her but he was selfish. He wanted her all to himself.

"I'm sorry." He said softly. "I'm sorry for everything.. we don't have to do this… I just want to hold you.. can I hold you?" She nodded and she collapsed on top of him and she rested her head on the base of his neck. They lied there in silence for several minutes. Then, Haley started kissing his neck, planting kisses all the way back to his lips.

"Haley." He tried to protest.

"I want to kiss you Nathan.. can I kiss you?" She whispered softly and he nodded slightly. Their lips met and her tongue fought for entrance, which he gladly accepted.

"Make love to me." She pleaded. Nathan grabbed her and flipped her over so now he was on top. They removed each other's clothes quickly and were once embraced in a deep long kiss. Their lips broke apart and she caressed his face. Looking into his blue eyes, she finally said it.

"I love you." She said almost in a whisper. Nathan's heart raced, she loved him and he had no doubt that he loved Haley James. This was the girl who captured his heart at the tender age of five. He wanted to tell her that he loved her too but he couldn't. The nagging voice in the back of his mind told him that he had no right to such a thing, not after the things he's done.

Everyone thinks of Nathan Scott as this spoiled, hotshot brat, a complete jerk and for the most part, they're right. But Haley knew him differently. She liked to think that she was the only one who truly knew him behind the rough exterior he put on. Behind it all he had a big heart and that's why she fell in love with him in the first place. She waited for him to say something, anything, but he didn't. She felt disappointed and hurt but she knew he loved her. He didn't need to say it, she felt it when he looked at her. Across the long hallways at school she could feel him watching her for all these years. She felt it when he kissed her and touched her, the way his rough hands were gentle on her body. She didn't need him to say it as long as she felt his love for her that would do, at least for now.

He bent down and kissed her again, pouring everything he had in that kiss. He couldn't tell her he loved her, not yet. He hoped that kiss was good enough and he was glad to see that she didn't push it further. Her hand reached for the drawer in his nightstand to take out a condom. "I need you in me." She said as she opened the package. And that night, he gave her what she asked for. Unlike their encounter at the tutor center, he was slow and paced himself. Haley tried to object, urging him to go faster but he went at his own pace. He didn't want a quickie, she wanted him to make love to her and he was going to do just that. He took slow and easy until he himself couldn't hold it back anymore.

After what seemed like hours, their bodies gave up and both collapsed onto each other. Sleep quickly took over Haley as she was completely exhausted and content to be in Nathan's arms. Nathan fought sleep for as long as he could. He just wanted to lie here with Haley and once he knew for sure she was asleep, he kissed the top of her forehead.

"I love you." He whispered.

To Be Continued . . .

I hope the change in mood didn't seem so out of place. It's Nathan and Haley and with Haley it is a very thin line between love and hate. I'd like to think that this story is the opposite of my other story "Thicker than Blood," especially the way I set Nathan and Haley up. Their past will be fully explained with each new chapter so I hope you stick around for it. Again thanks for the feedback and keep them coming.


	5. Chapter 5

Winners and Losers

Chapter 5

Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, but my other stories took my time and then there was work and other stuff going on, on top of all the Nathan/Haley drama on TV now seriously stifled my creativity with this story. Enjoy and please review!

--

"Where are you going?" Nathan asked shifting from his bed.

"Home.. we have school in an hour." Haley said, putting her top back on.

He pulled her in back to him. "Forget school.. let's just stay here all day."

"Nathan! We can't .. I can't."

"So just like that.. you're going to leave me here all alone." He pouted.

"Well you should know something about that." Haley meant it as a joke but soon realized the weight her words had.

"They didn't mean anything." Nathan said seriously.

"Who?"

"All those girls."

"_Right_." Haley rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious."

"Whatever Nathan.. I know how you were with other girls." She said hesitantly. "I'm just another notch on your belt.. whatever no big deal." She tried to play it off but even then she felt used and cheap.

"I only went after those girls because they looked like you.. everytime I was with anyone, it was you I was imagining with me." He said honestly.

For such a perverted and sick comment, it actually sounded sweet coming from Nathan but she wasn't going to let him win on this one. "Right and I'm sure me and curly bleach blond haired Peyton Sawyer and I are practically twins.. look Nathan.. it's okay.. you've been around ..."

"Halloween last year."

"What?"

"Halloween last year.. you went as that chick from Grease .. you wore black tights and had a blonde curly wig on." He stated.

Haley sat there shocked at what he just said. If she decided to believe him or not, the whole situation was already crazy. She remembered that it was right after that time was when Peyton and Nathan started going out. She was still reeling from the night before and lord only knows what hole she dug herself into now.

She took a deep breath. "Look I have to go."

"When can I see you again?"

"We're scheduled for tutoring."

"That's not what I meant."

She turned to face him. "I'll see you at tutoring." She said getting up.

He got up from the bed, completely unabashed at the condition he was in and leaned in and gave Haley a slow long and deep kiss. He rested his head against hers. "I'll see you at tutoring." He repeated, letting her go. As soon as she was gone, she felt like going back. Her lips still tingled and her body was still numb from last night. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself as she made her way back home.

--

"Did you just get to school now?" Haley asked as she went over to Lucas' locker. "It's already 3rd period."

"Yeah." Lucas yawned. "My mom let me sleep in."

"Understandable… are you okay?"

"Yeah.. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?

"Yes mom." Lucas groaned but smiled. "..but I'm not going to lie .. I'm looking forward to practice today."

"You'll be fine." She stated simply.

"The way you say it, I almost believe you."

"It'll get better Lucas trust me.." Haley said as she turned around. "I'll see you later."

"Later ."

--

Whitey shook his head. He didn't know how they were going to make the season when his team couldn't, well even play as a team. This time though, Lucas wasn't taking any of Nathan's b.s. The team was split in half and were playing a scrimmage. Nathan and Lucas were on the same team but only in the literal sense. Nathan for the most part tried to keep his cool for Haley's sake, telling the guys to back off today and made up some excuse about wanting to leave early and not pissing Whitey off, but Lucas was in no way going to cooperate with Nathan Scott.

The afternoon had already gone from bad to worst. Whitey could already count five near fights and both of them were hogging the ball.

"PASS!! You have an open man!" Whitey yelled.

Lucas saw Nathan opened and practically hurled the ball at him, causing it to go out of bounce.

"What the hell was that?" Nathan asked.

"I was passing the ball butter fingers."

"What the hell is wrong with you.. you're supposed to pass it .. it's not a freaking football!"

"Well maybe you should've joined that team then!" Lucas shot back and both of them were in each other's faces. Haley was passing by the halls and saw the heated exchange going on between them. She shook her head. He promised he would stop.

The team and Whitey managed to break them apart before things got worse. She snuck in undetected and watched them play for a couple of minutes shaking her head as the two of them were obviously not getting along. Lucas looked so heated, so mad.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Nathan turned to Lucas.

"You're my problem." Lucas clenched his jaw as he walked by Nathan, he purposely and forcefully bumped up against Nathan's shoulder. Nathan was about to turn around and do something when he noticed Haley hiding by the bleachers. The two locked eyes and she shook her head and left.

Everything felt like déjà vu, she couldn't watch anymore and turned around and back to her locker.

--Flashback--

"Sorry sorry .. I know I'm late." Haley said to Lucas.

"Hey.. it's okay.. I'm surprised you even agreed to go to these things." Lucas responded.

"Well according to Taylor.. 'Haley .. you're a big loser.. you're going to high school next year and never even been to a dance.' Blah blah same old Taylor crap." Haley joked.

"Well, I'm glad you came." Lucas smiled. "You'd think they repaint our gym?" He asked looking around the place.

"I know.. I saw the size of their library coming in here."

"Library? You are such a nerd."

"Hey! Watch it mister!"

She was glad she came to the dance. Most of the time it was her and Lucas hanging out or hanging out with the guy at the rivercourt but secretly she knew he wanted to attend these things and secretly she wanted to as well, for there was a certain raven haired blue eyed boy she wouldn't mind bumping into. They were in the Tree Hill Primary auditorium, where the 8th grade had their annual dance where students from Tree Hill Academy were also invited. Each year the venue switched between both schools.

"But this gym is nice.." Haley said. "I can't wait to see you play." She sounded excited.

Lucas looked nervous and ran his hand through his blond hair. "About that.. I umm .. I quit."

"Quit.. why?!"

He put his arm around her and tried to lead her to the drinks. "Look.. I don't want to talk about it now.. we're here to have fun." Lucas tried to dodge Haley's question. He really didn't want to go into it now.

"What're you doing here?" A voice said in front of Lucas and Haley.

Haley looked up to see Nathan and was about to say something but Lucas intervened. "I'm just here for the dance."

"You're not welcomed." Nathan glared and it was then that he noticed the girl under Lucas' arm. He looked at her and couldn't believe Haley was here, _with him_ of all people. Lucas saw Nathan look at Haley and took his arm away from her and stepped in front of her, partially blocking her view of Nathan. He didn't want _him _leering at his best friend.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Lucas asked.

Anger was now building up inside Nathan. Not only did this bastard come to try to play for his team, now he was in his school .. worst his date was with the girl he's secretly crushed. Nathan looked at Haley, she watched as his eyes no longer shimmered their radiant blue but turned dark and icy. Nathan turned back to Lucas.

"You're my problem." Nathan clenched his jaw and as he walked by Lucas, where he purposely and forcefully bumped up against Lucas' shoulder.

Haley took a step back and looked at Lucas. She was completely confused. _They knew each other. _

"What the hell was that? What's going on?" Haley asked.

"Nothing just some brotherly bonding." He said sarcastically.

"Lucas Eugene Scott!" Haley glared at him and using his whole name, he knew he better answer her.

"Don't be mad Haley.. but I sort of have a brother.."

"What do you mean sort of.." Her voice trailed off as the realization of everything started to set in. _Lucas Scott… Nathan Scott.. no they couldn't be.. Scott's a common last name.. she can name at least two others Scotts who were not related to Lucas.. Lucas had no family here except his mom and his uncle.. this couldn't be right. _

Lucas took a deep breath. "You just met Nathan Scott, my half brother .. and captain of the Tree Hill Crows."

Haley's eyes widened. _This can't be happening. _

--End Flashback--

Haley remembered that night, the night she found out that Nathan and Lucas were brothers. Lucas had known all along that his real father was also living in Tree Hill with his own family, but kept it to himself. Haley couldn't be too mad about him for keeping it from her. He and Karen never talked about it. It was obviously too painful for both of them to deal with, and then the added embarrassment and shame of being abandoned.

Lucas found out the truth a few years earlier through his Uncle Keith, both he and Karen tried to protect him but Lucas was bright and wasn't dumb. One day Keith mentioned something bout seeing his brother to Karen when Lucas walked in the room. Lucas was curious and knew that Keith's brother was in fact his dad. Karen knew she couldn't keep this from Lucas any longer and told him the truth. How his dad abandoned them to raise a family of his own, right here in Tree Hill. Lucas was angry and hurt and confused. He didn't speak to either of them for days, but eventually he forgave them both and understood where they were coming from. Haley could only imagine how Lucas must've felt, knowing that this whole time his father lived across town and did nothing or that his mom and uncle never said anything.

Nathan on the other hand was kept in the dark this whole time, living in his own world and rarely seeing his Uncle Keith. That all changed when the basketball teams of Tree Hill's two elementary school combined into one and a certain bond hair boy with a sick cross over joined the team. Dan, their father, didn't take the news too well. In turn Nathan made sure to do everything he could to get Lucas to quit and Nathan succeeded then.

--

Whitey blew the whistle. "Hit the showers!!" Whitey yelled, annoyed and aggravated over today's practice. "Except you two idiots!" He called out to Lucas and Nathan.

He looked at both of them for a moment, the three of them standing in awkward silence as the rest of the team left.

"You know.. there's a saying .. you probably heard it." Whitey said calmly. "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game.." Whitey took a deep breath and then yelled. "WHAT KIND OF GAME ARE YOU TWO PLAYING?! .. this is my team.. our shot at our chance for states this year .. you two are either going to get us there or dig our graves .. but the way you two idiots are playing against each other.. it's shameful and lose we will .. and this thing going on between you two.. I can guarantee you no one's going to win.." Whitey shook his head leaving the two boys behind.

Both brothers looked at each other for a moment, anger in their eyes and they headed off in opposite direction.

--

Nathan rushed out of the locker room, all he wanted to do was see Haley and arrive early for their tutoring session. He roamed the now empty halls and and saw Haley leaving the tutor center. He quickly picked up his paced and ran up to catch her.

"Haley!" He called out. "I thought we had tutoring." She pulled him into an empty classroom so that no one could see them.

"We did.. I'm sorry Nathan.. after what I saw today.. I've been fooling myself." She said, tears near her eyes.

"What're you talking about?" Nathan asked confused.

"I should've never asked you to loose that game with Lucas and made that deal with you... . I shouldn't told you I'd tutor you so that you would leave Lucas alone .. it's obvious you won't and it's obvious that I've just been in denial." Haley took a deep breath.

"Haley you got it wrong."

"You're right.. I did have it wrong for a while now.. look at the mess I made.. I can't tutor you .. I can't do anything with you."

"You don't mean that!"

"I'm trying to fix my mistakes Nathan .. I owe it to myself."

"And for him right?! .. but not for me!"

"Would you look at yourself.. you can't even say his name!"

"Haley.."

"Nathan .. I'm sorry.. If I led you on.. I'm sorry I am.. I just.. I just wanted to be with you." She caressed his cheek. "I saw the game as my chance." She pulled her hand back.

"You didn't need to come up with an excuse to see me."

"Yes I did." She affirmed. "Or is your memory that short? I tried all those years ago but you.." She shook her head in frustration.

"Haley.. I'm sorry about that.." Nathan mumbled the words.

"I'm sorry too .. it was wrong for me to use Lucas as an excuse to be with you, it was selfish of me.. I just didn't want to have my heart broken again.. but it turned out that way either way .." She started to walk away.

"Haley.." Nathan grabbed her arm.

"I told you I loved you and you didn't say anything!" She tried not scream.

"I .." Nathan tried to say the words but he couldn't, not after what he did. The memory still engrained with him.

"I what?! You can't even say it .. whatever feelings you have for me .. it's not love.. and I want love.. I deserve love …"

He cut her mid sentence, crashing his lips on to hers. She didn't fight him as his tongue touched hers. Their lips finally parted, both of them gasping for air. She looked up at his blue eyes and whispered. "I want more." She stepped away from his grasp and started to walk away.

"Haley don't go."

"I'm already gone." She said quickly as she ran out of the room and out the nearest exit. Nathan stood there for a moment, unsure whether to giver her time or chase after her. He choose the latter, he couldn't be away from her, not now, not ever. He ran out of the building but it was already too late.

Haley held back her tears and kept her emotions in check as she ran out the doors. Lucas just left the building and was outside checking his pockets to make sure he didn't forget his wallet.

Lucas heard footsteps behind him. "Haley?" Lucas asked looked at her curiously.

"Hey Lucas." She tried to smile, he was certainly the last person she wanted to see.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I am now.. rough day." She tried to smile as she walked up to him.

"Tell me about it." He smiled back and the two laughed as they started to walk. He put his arm around her and pulled her into a protective hold and placed his chin on the top of her head.

"How about we go to my mom's and raid some of her pies?" He asked looking down at her.

"Sounds good." She said looking up at him, but noticed his eyes had no wondered. She turned around to see what he was looking at or rather who.

Nathan stepped outside to look for Haley, but instead found her walking with Lucas as he put his arm around her and held her affectionately. Nathan clenched his fists and gritted his jaw. Anger, hurt and jealousy all swirled inside of him. Lucas turned around and saw Nathan glaring at him and then Haley turned around and Nathan looked straight at her.

Lucas turned back around, ignoring whatever games Nathan was up to now. "Great." He responded. "Let's go." He pulled her in closer. Haley nodded, the knots in her stomach wrapping tighter.

To Be Continued . . .

I hope you enjoyed even though the ending was a little dark. Things have only begun for Nathan and Haley as you will see in next chapter. So yes there is a reason why Nathan isn't telling Haley that he loves her, which you'll find out eventually as well as what happened between Nathan and Haley when they were younger, like really younger and what happened a few years ago during their transition from 8th grade to freshmen year. I hope you enjoyed and please review !!!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Thank you guys for the reviews and I'm sorry for any grammar/spelling. I typed this as fast as I could and wanted to post before my trip. I also loved tonight's episode.. despite Naley not getting back together, everything else was top notch and seeing the naley kiss in the preview gives me hope. Enjoy and please review !!

--

"Good call Luke.. your mom's apple pie is definitely what I needed." Haley said as she ate another portion.

"What happened today?"

"Oh just stuff." Haley tried to look away.

"Hales.." Lucas pleaded.

"It was just a bad day.. I was almost late today.. I forgot to pack lunch .. I thought I lost my English paper and tore apart my locker looking for it only to realize that it was in my bag the whole time and then I sat next to that smelly kid in math class.. eww. And just one bad thing after the other.. I'm glad the day is over." She tried to make up the best excuse as she can think of to get Lucas off her back. Truthfully, she was starting to feel a little better. "What about you? Rough practice?" Although Haley knew the answer.

"You can say that." Lucas nodded. "Just Whitey got on my case and of course with me and Nathan."

At the mention of his name, Haley tensed up. "Wha.. what happened?" She asked a little unsure.

"Last night they kidnap me and then leave me for dead.. today they all act like nothing happened .. I'm sick of it.. I'm sick of Nathan.. I got tired of his crap."

"What do you mean?" Haley looked up.

"He wants to play dirty .. so I played dirty."

"Lucas.."

"Look it was nothing like that.. I mean I did hog the ball a little today and I sort of egged him on this time .."

"Wait so you were instigating with Nathan.." Haley felt the knots in her stomach again.

"Yeah.. sort of .. I know I'm supposed to take the high road but sue me if I had a bad day."

Haley gave him a smile, after what Nathan put him through, Lucas could only take so much.

"I mean .. I just need to show those guys that I wasn't going anywhere and I had to play a little dirty to make them know that."

Haley nodded, understanding what Lucas had to do. "Hopefully they get the message cuz Whitey is scary when he's mad." Lucas joked and Haley laughed. She offered the rest of her pie to Lucas. She was definitely not hungry anymore.

--

Haley went home and finished all her school work but once the distraction was gone her mind wondered off to Nathan. Maybe he was trying and she had completely misread everything she saw in the gym today. She was quick to assume that Nathan started things when she didn't bother to think that Lucas also had his part to play. She tossed and turned and finally gave up. She grabbed her coat and headed out.

--

Nathan lay bed feeling like crap. Not only did practice suck, but Haley had ended things with him and as soon as she did, she came running back to Lucas. He felt sick as he watched Lucas put his arm around Haley. He watched them over the years, the way there were so close to each other. It made him want to vomit, it should be him not Lucas to hold Haley like that. He didn't know what to do, his mind was so confused, but one thing was for certain, he wanted Haley and he wasn't going to give up that easily. He tried to think of something, but his thoughts were interrupted by a gentle tapping at his window.

--

Haley pulled out her cell and tried to call Nathan but his phone was off. She reached his house but unfortunately all the doors were locked. She walked around the house to where Nathan's room was and contemplated scaling the walls. However, knowing her luck, she would fall and break her neck or something. The lights were off but she hoped he was still awake. Either way, she had to see him, she had to talk to him. She picked up small pebbles from the ground and started to throw it at his window. Pretty soon, his image appeared through the window. He looked down and was surprised to see her there. He put on a pair of basketball shorts over his boxers and went downstairs and opened the back entrance where Haley was waiting there.

He opened the door and immediately Haley threw her arms around and her and kissed his bare chest. "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry." This was definitely something he wasn't expecting but he was in no means going to complain. He gave her a hug and guided her upstairs and into the solitude of his room. He locked the door behind her and found Haley sitting on his bed.

"I'm sorry.." She repeated. "about earlier.. I talked to Lucas .. I know you were trying your best not to mess with him today.. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

He sat next to her and pulled her into him. "Shh.. you don't have to be sorry for anything … I'm the one who's sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong." She tried to correct him but he just gave her that "Are you serious?" look and she smiled and hugged him tighter.

"I'm sorry I ever gave you a reason to doubt me?" He whispered to her and the two sat there in each other's embrace for a moment. "So are we good?" He whispered as he gently stroked her hair and she simply nodded.

"Can I stay here?" She whispered and his heart soared.

"Of course." Nathan shifted back into the bed. Haley was already in her PJ's but was wearing a jacket over it. She removed her jacket and kicked off her sneakers. She was about to remove her shirt when Nathan stopped her.

"You don't have to." He said softly. "We can just sleep."

She looked turned back to him and was glad that he said that. "But I want to.."

"Look Hales.. this isn't about sex for me .. we don't have to do anything."

"I know it isn't .. but I like I said.. I want to .. I love you Nathan.." Before he could say anything, she put her finger over his mouth. "And I know there's something you're not telling me .. I see it in your eyes but whatever it is.. I'll be here when you're ready to tell me." Nathan was amazed at how well she knew him. "I want you Nathan.. I need you .. I need you in me."

He looked at her curiously. "Why?" He said softly.

"Because you make me feel whole .. make me feel alive .." She smiled at him and he moved his face forward and gave her a gentle kiss.

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Yes." She bit her lip in anticipation.

He gave her a sly grin. He instantly pulled her in and turned her so now he was on top of her. They quickly shed their clothes and Nathan immediately planted hot kisses all along her body from her lips, down to her neck, between her breasts and down to her stomach. This wasn't about sex for either of them, it was about making love and Nathan made sure to make her feel just that.. loved.

--

The next morning, Nathan woke up to Haley firmly wrapped around his arms. His body was still humming over what took place last night. They went at it for hours, not wanting to stop until exhaustion completely took a hold of him. He looked over to his alarm clock and saw that it was almost time to go to school. He cursed softly and shifted his body, waking Haley up.

"Sorry Haley.. school's in 10 minutes." He kissed the top of her head and was about to get up when her arm wrapped around his stomach and pulled him back into bed.

"Let's just stay here." She mumbled as she snuggled up next to Nathan.

"What about school?" He asked curiously.

"What about school?" She shot back, not bothering to look up. Nathan smirked to himself, this wasn't Haley at all. "Now you can go ahead if you want but know I'm going to lay here and hug your pillow and imagine it was you." She said as she gave his chest a quick peck.

"How can I say no to that?" He smiled as he wrapped his arms tighter around Haley.

Nathan woke up around 9:30 in the morning and noticed that Haley wasn't there anymore. A wave of disappointment came over him as he thought she had left him, but realized her clothes were still strewn on the floor. He slipped on his boxers and made his way downstairs where he smelled something good coming from the kitchen.

"Hey.. I missed you." He said, coming up behind Haley. She looked so sexy, with her hair a mess and only wearing one of Nathan's ravens t-shirt. Haley smiled and turned the stove off.

"Just in time, breakfast is ready." She said.

"Well I think I have my breakfast right here." He pulled Haley closer to him and started kissing her neck. He brought her over to the counter top and never let go of her until they both went over the edge.

--

Two hours later, Nathan and Haley laid out a beach blanket and rested on the sand that overlooked the waters. Playing hookie today, they decided to make the most of their time and Nathan suggested going to his beach house. The weather was still warm and there were hardly any people out, which was perfectly fine for them.

Haley removed her shirt and shorts to reveal her two piece bathing suit. She felt a little nervous exposing so much skin and it didn't help that Nathan was gawking at her.

"Stop." She said embarrassed, crossing her arms to cover her chest.

"What? It's nothing I haven't seen before." He chuckled. She stuck her tongue out and sat down in front of him. She passed him the sunblock so that he could put it on her.

"This was a great idea Nathan."

"I knew you'd like it." He smiled as his hands gently massaged the sunblock on to Haley's back. Though it was warm out, Nathan's touch still sent chills down her spine. He rubbed it in on her back and across stomach, then down her thighs, hovering very close to her groin.

"Easy there." Haley had to stifle a moan. Nathan definitely knew how to use his hands.

"Maybe we should carry this inside." He pressed up against her and she can feel him growing.

"Down boy." She teased as she got up and went behind Nathan. "My turn." She whispered in his ears.

"You sure you don't want to go inside?"

"Nathan!" She gently slapped his back. "It's a beautiful day and if I'm ditching school.. we're going to enjoy it." She really didn't want to miss school but then again she didn't want to get back to the normal everyday routine. She had a miserable day yesterday and at least for today, she wanted to just relax and enjoy herself and she couldn't picture anyone else she wanted to spend it with. She texted Lucas, claiming "heavy cramps," needless to say he wouldn't be questioning her at all tomorrow. She put the sunblock on her hands and gently massaged it on to Nathan's back and then mimicking his moves, as she completely explored his torso and down his legs and under the waistband of his swimming trunks.

"You have no idea what you're doing to me now." He moaned.

"I think I have an idea." Haley smirked as she got up and sat in front of him between his legs. She instantly leaned back against him and the two just watched the waves gently crash onto the beach.

"Hey .. close your eyes." Nathan asked.

"Why?" She was wondering what he was up to now.

"Close 'em .. please."

"Fine." She said as she did what he asked.

He held his arm out and dug into the sand and then took Haley's hand and put something in it and clenched her fist so that her hands were wrapped around the object.

"K open it." He said and she opened her arms and looked at her hand to see a seashell Nathan place there. She turned around to him and smiled.

"You remember?"

"I remember everything." He said, though in the back of his mind he wished he did forget certain things.

--Flashback--

"Hey Nathan." A 10 year old Haley James said as she sat down on the sand next to Nathan.

"Hey Haley.. what's going on?"

"Nothing much.. you?"

"Same.. just went for a swim .. are you feeling better?" He asked with a look of concern.

She gave a polite smile and nodded her head. It had been two days since they last saw each other, two days since Nathan found Haley on the beach crying.

"I told my mom what happened and she grounded Taylor." Haley said beaming. Nathan smiled back.

"Oh I have something for you."

"Really? What is it?"

"K close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Cuz." She wined.

"Fine." He gave up and did as he was told.

She took his hand and placed a seashell in it. "K open."

"Oh."

"Oh?!" She repeated his words.

"I was expecting something like a Michael Jordan rookie card."

"Michael who?"

Nathan shook his head. _Girls_. "Nevermind." Now Haley suddenly looked sad.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"You don't like it."

"No! I love it.. I can put it with the rest of my collection." He smiled, but she still looked sad. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?" She questioned.

"Well everytime my dad buys my mom something she loves, she gives him a kiss to thank him.. so that's my thank you." He stated and Haley smiled.

"So you really do like it?"

"Of course.. it came from you." He said honestly.

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He was a bit surprised by it but didn't mind it at all.

"What was that for?" Now it was Nathan's turn to ask.

"My thank you… for helping me with Shelly." She added. Nathan smiled at her and the two young kids looked out into the water.

"Do you want to swim?"

Haley immediately shook her head.

He started to laugh. "We're on a beach. .there's nothing else to do but swim." He stated.

"No .. I can lie out here and enjoy the sun."

"You can do that from home.. come on let's swim." He stood up and tried to get Haley up as well. He was surprised at how strong she was.

"I.. I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I just can't okay." Haley sounded a little frustrated.

"Why?" Nathan wasn't budging.

"Cuz I can't swim… and don't say anything it's bad enough Taylor and Lucas make fun of me for it."

"You can't swim?" Nathan was surprised and assumed Lucas was one of her many siblings.

"It's not funny."

"I wasn't laughing." He looked at her seriously. She looked up at him and he was right. In the sunlight, she noticed how blue his eyes looked at the moment, as if she was staring at the ocean in front of her.

"Come on I'll teach you."

Haley tensed up and shook her head.

"Come on.. you can't be afraid of the water."

"I'm not afraid of water.. just large volumes of it."

He extended his arm to her. "I won't let anything bad happen to you .. promise."

She hesitated for a moment. "Promise?"

Nathan nodded his head. "I promise.. I'll protect you."

She reluctantly took his hand and the two walked hand in hand to the water. Once their feet touch the water, she instantly squeezed harder on his hand. They took a few more steps in and Haley was about to turn around.

"Come on Haley."

"I'm .. I'm scared."

His tightened his grip on her hand. "You have me."

"That doesn't make me feel better.. promise you won't let go of me."

"I could never let you go." Nathan responded and the two proceeded to go in further into the vast unknown waters. 10 year old Nathan kept his promise and never let go of her, years later he never did.

--End Flashback--

Nathan smiled at the memory and stood up and extended his hand to Haley.

"Still afraid of the waters James?"

"Nope." Haley said simply as she got up and took Nathan's hand.

They walked hand in hand to the water, a sense of déjà vu coming over them. They walked waist deep into the water.

"Are you going to let go now?" She teased since their hands were still clasped together.

"Actually.." Nathan smirked as he scooped Haley up.

She tried to wiggle herself free of him. "No.. don't you dare!" But it was too late as Nathan threw her in the water and immediately he started laughing. She got up and started splashing water at him and then jumped on his back and dipped his head in the water.

"You're going to pay for that!" Nathan said getting up and running after Haley. He managed to grab her arm as she continued to laugh. He pulled her to him, a firm grip on her hands.

"I told you I wasn't going to let go." He said as he closed the gap between their lips.

To Be Continued . . .

Tonight's episode wasn't as bad as I was expecting, no Carrie thank God.. though I know next week won't be the end of the Naley drama but I'm hoping they are at least back together. This chapter was supposed to be longer but I decided to break it in half. I hope you enjoyed and YAY 100th episode next week. I'm going to a nice warm tropical island for a long weekend and it'd be nice to come home to plenty of reviews hehe. I hope you enjoyed and please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Winners and Losers

Chapter 7

Hello all, sorry for the long update. If you read my note in "The Mourning After," I just came off a trip from Puerto Rico and I'm spending a long easter weekend in LA and I have a lot to do at work so please be patient with me while I get my stories back on track. Thank you all for your reviews. I'm sure many of you are wondering what is going on at the beach, hehe but this chapter is actually a flashback of Nathan and Haley during early freshmen year. I only kept mentioning their past, I think it was time to give more disclosure. I hope you like it, after tonight's excellent 100th episode, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. 

--

"Lucas Scott.. don't you dare step a foot inside this house!" Haley yelled on the phone.

"Why?"

"Cuz I have chicken pox and according to your mom, you never had it yet."

"Please, besides I need a reason to stay away from school for two weeks… algebra is killing me."

"And you think missing two weeks is going to make the class easier?" Haley shot back.

"Fine you have a point.. but I don't like this new school."

Haley could feel the pain behind his voice. Starting a new school is never easy for anyone but it was especially harder on Lucas. Lucas was certainly not the most popular kid in their old grammar school, but he was soft spoken and well liked. Like Haley, he managed to hide under the radar. He was an average kid, but now all eyes were on him. Since he tried to join the basketball team during their 8th grade, Nathan made things difficult and Lucas eventually had to quit. He thought it would be better once he quit the team and it did for a little but, but he soon realized that they were going to spend the next four years together in high school and now everyone knew him as the bastard son of Dan Scott.

"Nathan?" Haley asked softly, even though she knew the answer.

"Was it that obvious?" 

"Yeah.. sorry Lucas."

"I don't get why he hates me so much.. I didn't do anything to him."

"I know Luke." Haley tried to sound sympathetic. 

"God he's such a jerk!"

"I know he is .. but maybe he's a good guy underneath it all."

"Ha!" Lucas scoffed. "Nathan Scott only cares for himself.. him and basketball."

"I know it's hard but believe me.. in a couple of weeks people will be talking about something else .. just lay low.. I'm sure people will get tired of talking about you.. lord knows I'm sick of hearing it… just hang in there and besides Thanksgiving and then Christmas break is right around the corner."

"Thanks Hales, something to look forward to. Well I should go."

"Anytime and Luke don't forget.."

"Yes.. I'll get your books and homework assignments from your teachers."

"You're the best and remember.. do not go near here.. my parents and Taylor have strict orders not to let you in here.. my mom or my dad will come by later to grab my things."

"Why don't I just give it to Taylor at school?"

"Please she'll probably misplace it or leave it in her locker or something."

"Good point anyways.. feel better… bye." 

Haley put the phone down and grabbed another tissue and blew her nose. She lied in bed, completely bored out of her mind. She was actually jealous that Lucas was able to go to school, while she was stuck at home sick. She hated to see Lucas so miserable and still didn't understand what Nathan had against him. Sure, she only knew Nathan as more of an acquaintance over the years, but she'd like to think that they were more. When they saw each other over the years, it was as if no time has passed between their encounters. But now they were attending the same school, Haley was having a hard time figuring out who the hell Nathan Scott was. 

He was cocky, arrogant and completely self assured, and all this coming from a freshmen. He was by far the most popular guy in their class and even had seniors noticing him. He was one the only freshmen to make it to varsity and although he wasn't a starter, she knew he would be by next year. She'd pass by him in the hallways, always surrounded by his group of followers, but ever so slightly he would look at her, a look that she knew was only meant for her. 

When they would bump into each other, they would say hi or give a half smile. There was always an elephant in the room and his name was Lucas. She remembered a week after the dance, a week after she found out that he and Lucas were half-brothers.

-- Flashback--

Haley was at the mall with her mom doing some shopping. She split off from her mom to go to the music store and that was when she saw him.

"Hey Nathan." Haley tried to sound cheerful.

Nathan looked up from the stack of cd's. "Hey." He tried to sound dismissive.

"What're you doing?"

"Looking for music."

"I know that.. anyone in particular."

Nathan just nodded. "No."

Haley stood there in awkward silence as he continued to look through the music selection. This was a mistake, she thought to herself. "I .. I should go. My mom is waiting for me by the food court." She waved her hand but he continued to look at the cd's in front of him. A small wave of disappointment came over her and she turned around to walk away.

"So he's your boyfriend." Nathan finally spoke and Haley turned back around.

"Who?"

"You know who."

"Lucas?"

"…"

"No he is not my boyfriend.. he's my bestfriend." 

Just the thought of him made Nathan cringe and although Haley told him he wasn't her boyfriend, he still felt unsettled.

"How come you never mentioned him?"

"I did!"

"I thought he was your brother.. Jamie.. SHE's your bestfriend."

Haley shook her head. "Jamie is really Matt.. as in my brother Matt James but he got the nickname Jamie when he was a kid.. and Lucas .. well he's your brother."

"Don't say that."

"Why? It's true isn't it?"

"NO! I have no brothers .. I have no sisters.. I can't believe this whole time you were with him."

"You act like we're neighbors or something and we see each other all the time .. I didn't know you two were related.. I thought Scott was a common name and Lucas never mentioned it… you should get to know him.. he's really a good guy.. I think you two would get along."

Nathan scoffed. "No.. we won't."

"Come on .. give him a shot .. we're all going to the same school next year."

"Don't remind me."

"I just want all of us to be friends."

"Friends? There's no way I'm going to be friends with him." 

"And what about me? I'm his friend .. I'm his bestfriend.. does that mean you won't be friends with me?"

Nathan looked at her dead in the eye. "Yes." He said and he meant it, with Haley James he certainly wasn't looking for her friendship. He wanted something else. To say Haley was shock was an understatement, she felt like her heart had been ripped apart. She didn't see him often but she thought that they could be friends, though a little voice inside her told her that he could be more than just a friend. She saw the seriousness in his eyes and wondered what happened to the sweet boy she met at the playground when she was 5 or helped her grab the icecream when they would sometimes run into each other at the grocery store. 

She bit her lower lip and fought the tears that were coming to her face. She told herself to get a grip and that there were no need to shed any tears. It's not like they were friends before, this changes nothing in her world. She simply nodded and turned away. 

The days turned to weeks and the weeks turned to months and now and her and Nathan didn't speak. Only the most casual of greetings and when she was with Lucas, he completely avoided looking at them both. That all changed a week before Haley had the chicken pox. 

Haley was walking down the empty hallways when she heard something.

"Pssst."

Haley turned around and saw Nathan at an empty classroom, gesturing to her.

"What?" She said annoyed.

He pulled her inside and closed the door behind him.

"Nathan, what are you doing?" Haley crossed her arms.

"I want to tell you that I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Haley looked at him curiously.

"I know I was a jerk the last time we spoke."

"If my memory serves me right.. you told me that you don't want to be friends with me because I am friend's with Lucas.. who also happens to be your brother."

"Look.. let's not start that again.. I want to make a clean break."

"That's nice Nathan but that doesn't change anything and your timing is great.. you only waited like a couple of months to say it."

Nathan sighed. "When I told you that I didn't want to be friends with you.. I meant it."

Haley shook her head. "Then why are we talking." Haley was about to step away but Nathan closed the gap between them.

For months now, Haley plagued his mind and thoughts and seeing her at school made things worse. The more he thought about her, the stronger his feelings were for her. He saw her enter the dance and thought she looked absolutely stunning but then his heart dropped when he saw her with Lucas. Since then he started to see Haley in a new light, not just some girl he randomly would pass by but someone he knew would change his life forever and for the better. He played his part well and hid his true feelings. He was afterall Nathan Scott, confident and vibrant. 

Ever since he came to Tree Hill High School, his hormones were in flux and girls wanted him, not just freshmen but a good number of sophomores and even a couple of juniors and seniors made passes at him. It only helped to bolster his ego but he held back, only flirting with them because he knew the one girl he really wanted. He laughed at himself, he could talk to any girl in this school but it took him this long to finally muster the courage to talk to the one he was really interested in. 

"Haley.. what I meant was that I don't want to be friends with you because I want more."

"More?" Haley sounded confused.

Nathan looked down, he was never this nervous. He looked back to her and took a step closer to her. "_More_." 

"Oh." Haley started to tense up with Nathan being so close to her. She took a step back. "I.. I don't think that's a good idea." She panicked.

"Why? Because you're already seeing someone." Nathan crossed his arms.

"No.. it's just .. there's Lucas.. it wouldn't it be right."

"And you say you aren't seeing anyone .. why do you care what he thinks?"

"Cuz he's my bestfriend and I don't want to hurt him."

"Since you two are going out."

"No.. we're not .. he can just be a little over protective."

Nathan looked at her curiously. "Wait.. you haven't told him about us."

"What? There is no us."

"Does he know that you know me?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"The one you're avoiding."

"Of course Lucas knows that I know you."

"So I can tell him all about the times we played at the playground or at the beach or watched a movie.."

"Stop!"

Nathan smirked. "How come you didn't tell him?"

"It never came up .. besides he'll only get mad if I tell him anyways."

"Keeping secrets from your boyfriend isn't very nice."

"He's not my boyfriend.. God.. this is getting old."

"Then why didn't you tell him?"

Haley sighed in frustration. "Cuz he'll think that something is going on with us."

"Well if nothing is going on with us then why don't you just tell him." Nathan shot back and he loved seeing Haley get all flustered.

"…"

"Just admit you like me too because I really like you." He put on a smile and Haley cursed at herself for noticing how adorable he looked right now. _Daym teenage hormones. _

She tried to get a hold of herself. "I'm sorry Nathan, I don't." She lied. "I can't be your girlfriend or whatever you want from me.. I can only be your friend." She stated and then walked out. 

Nathan shook his head. _This was going to be harder than I thought. _

-- End Flashback--

Haley finished talking to Lucas and put the phone down and grabbed another tissue and blew her nose. She lied in bed, completely bored out of her mind. She was lost in her thoughts when a knock came from her door. She was a little surprised, Taylor was at school, Matt wasn't going to come home from college anytime soon and her parents were at work. Haley grew angry, there was only one person who would come here and she thought she told him to stay away.

"You're a dead man Scott!" Haley yelled from her bed.

"Geez .. sorry." Nathan said putting his hands up in defeat. The door swung open and Haley's mouth dropped.

"Na.. Nathan?"

"For someone who knew I was coming, you look pretty surprised."

"I.. I thought you were Lucas." Haley noticed his expression changed. "What.. what're you doing here?"

Nathan tried to shake off hearing Lucas' name and put his smile back on. "I heard you were sick and so I came by to give you some chicken noodle soup with extra noodles.. that's how you like it right?"

"Yeah.. I can't believe you remember.. I can't believe you're here." Haley wondered just how much medicine did she take. 

Nathan walked in and put the food on the nightstand and sat on the bed. "Look.. I'm sorry about last week.. I shouldn't have ambushed you like that and I'm sorry for the way I acted that day in the music store a couple of months ago .. but if you just want to be friends then I'm okay with that."

Haley nodded her head, unsure of what to say.

"So what do you want to do?"

"Umm if you haven't noticed the giant pimples on my face, I'm sick .. I'm pretty much doing nothing for the next two weeks."

"Then aren't you glad I'm here then." Nathan smiled.

"Don't you have school?"

"Ehh I can miss a period or two.. or three." Nathan shrugged and Haley couldn't help but giggle. 

"I don't want to get you sick."

"I already had the chicken pox… face it Haley.. you're stuck with me .. so what do you say?" Nathan asked pulling out a couple of DVD's from his backpack. Haley smiled and grabbed the soup and started to eat. She could try being friends with Nathan, she thought to herself. Besides, Lucas wasn't stepping a foot near her house anyways. Luckily, Haley had a tv and dvd player in her room and Nathan put on a movie and lay down on the bed next to her. 

Haley slurped on a long noodle and Nathan couldn't help but laugh as she slurped it. She smiled back at him, seeing that she was eating her noodles like a little kid. 

"Th.. thank you." She said softly. 

"Any time James." He smiled back and put his arm around her and continued to watch the movie in comfortable silence. 

To Be Continued . . . .

I hope you enjoyed and please review ! Now below I will discuss the 100th episode .. do not read if you don't want to know what happened.

So there are a lot of things I have to say, this episode had a lot and I loved it so I'm just going to go through some things:

Andy and Karen- love them, hope they are permanent but I have a feeling that they will leave Tree Hill and will only appear sporadically, if anything anymore. Karen's story is pretty much done after she settles this whole thing with Dan. I wish I didn't know andy would be back, I saw it before and I was shocked, I would've loved it if I didn't know that

Jamie – steals the show everytime, I cant say enough about this kid.. and I love how Lily was like, she has to call her aunt, which at least in my family is true, I call my dad's first cousins aunt/uncle 

Lucas- I'm starting to think he really does love Lindsey hehe, but there were elements of brucas in here that can not be ignored, I hope Lucas will finally decide who he wants to be with but although I loved the whole comet thing, it was great and makes me actually want to root for peyton, but at this point I was a little worried with all the Laley we got in this episode but I know my over paranoid mind is playing tricks on me

Nathan- loved that he's not giving up but dammit Nathan, step it up ! I'm glad we know where his head is at, I loved the flashback scene and Haley's voice was so cute in that scene.. "Big things" I was like aww.. I so didn't believe that it was a flashback just because Nathan's face has matured over the years, I wouldn't say he got fat but if you compare his facial features over the years, he has bulked up in the face, but yes I loved that scene and how Nathan said he wanted a little girl, well maybe you should get started with that Nathan and give Jamie a sibling ! And the fantasy kiss he had, that was really great but once it started raining, I knew it had to be a dream, I just wished it was Haley's

Haley- I would've liked for her to have her own fantasy with Nathan, we really didn't know what was going inside her head tonight. .but im glad she didn't turn away from Nathan tonight and I was about to get heated when she said that he should've protected Jamie, like she was blaming him, only to blame herself.. I hope she doesn't turn this against Nathan because he didn't fire carrie sooner though it was her fault that carrie was brought into their lives.

and that ending talk about "GREAT SCOTTS" .. lucas Nathan haley Jamie lily dan and all if Karen did get married, she would've been a scott too, we were just missing deb (btw where is she!)

I think my favorite in this whole episode is Dan choking the shit out of Carrie, although I am curious as to how they will react to Dan saving Jamie and what happens with Carrie, her ass needs to go to jail now and be locked up next to Derek ! There's so much more to say but my mind is overloaded.


	8. Chapter 8

Winners and Losers

Chapter 8

Sorry for the delay and thank you for the reviews. Now I'm really excited because it's full disclosure from here on out. Chapter 6 left Nathan and Haley ditching school and heading to the beach. Chapter 7 was a flashback of Nathan and Haley during freshmen year. This chapter will show you what happened in both timelines and how Nathan and Haley came to be in their own little worlds. Sorry for any grammar mistakes, I wanted to update ASAP. Enjoy and please review!!

Xxxx

Nathan and Haley were sitting on Haley's bed surrounded by junk food and the two intently watching the tv in front of them. This was the 4th day in a row now that Nathan stopped by. The first time, Nathan spent the whole day there and for the 2nd day and yesterday, he only managed to make it in the afternoon. But today, Nathan showed up in the morning and Haley was pleasantly surprised.

She looked over at him and the cast over his leg.

"What?" He said looking at her.

"I still can't believe you did that."

"What.. the leg.. I know it's pure genius."

"I can't believe your dad fell for it."

"Letting him think I had an ankle injury.. I'm surprised he hasn't admitted me to the hospital." He laughed. Haley couldn't believe that he lied to his dad that he faked an injury. Nathan told her that the only thing Dan cared about was Nathan's basketball career, not so much for Nathan. It left her a little sad that a father could treat his son in such a way, but she also found it adorable that he would do that just so they can hang out together while Haley was sick. She felt bad though, she didn't want him to miss school because of her.

"And it's even better that he has to go away for a business trip so I have all this week and next week to hang out with you." He smile grew wider.

"As much as I enjoy our time together, I hate that your missing out on school .. in fact.. why aren't you in school? I mean it's not like a "sprained ankle" is contagious."

"I just had to put the act in front of my dad .. he wouldn't let me near school with all those stairs and clumsy idiots as he called them.."

"Still.. you're going to miss out on so much."

"I don't see it that way." He turned to her.

"Oh I have an idea!" Haley's face lit up. "You have your assignments right? I can tutor you!!"

"Tutor?"

"Yeah.. why not?"

"I don't need a tutor."

"Really? What did you get on your last Algebra test?"

"Um.. that's not the point."

"Well .. if you're going to spend all this time here.. we might as well do something more productive than watching movies."

"You're right.. we should like totally make out or something." He teased.

"Nathan!" She hit playfully across the chest. "I'm serious!"

"What? So am I !" He couldn't help but start laughing.

Haley just glared at him and looked back on the tv.

"I'm sorry.. I couldn't help it .. you're right.. we can do our work together.."

Haley smiled back at him and reached into the bag of chips. They continued to watch tv but a sudden itch had Haley squirming.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked.

"It's just this itch in my back.. it's hard to reach."

"Well… you shouldn't be scratching."

"I know.. but it's annoying .. there's a lotion my doctor gave me but I can't reach back there."

"Give me the lotion." Nathan stated.

"Nathan .. you can't."

"Why not?"

"Cuz.."

"Cuz what? It's either that or you keep itching all day long."

Haley grumbled and reached over into her dresser and pulled out the lotion and reluctantly gave it to Nathan.

Her back faced him now. "No peaking!" She warned. She lifted her shirt from the back and was careful to remove it. She clung her shirt next to her chest, revealing her bare back to him. A lump formed in Nathan's throat. Despite the fact Haley was covered in red dots, he still couldn't help but think that she was still gorgeous.

He put some lotion on his hands and gently massaged it into her. "Where does it itch?"

"Everywhere." She said softly. She felt cool soothing relief of the lotion against her back but it was the warm but firm touch of Nathan's hands all over her that had her mind in overdrive. _Daym teenage hormones! _She cursed to herself. Nathan's hands were shaking but as soon as he touched her skin, they calmed down and Nathan held his breath as he gently rubbed lotion all over her back, electricity shooting through both of them.

"How does that feel?" He asked softly, trying to break the silence.

"Better." She muttered, just how much he didn't know.

xxxxxx The Present xxxxxx

Nathan and Haley continued to play in the water for the next hour, as if they were still those little kids all those years ago. Yet the carefree spirit they had back then was alive today. They cut school and made the best of their hookie day.

Haley ran her hands through Nathan's soak her and leaned in to give him a kiss. "Why don't we continue this inside?" She whispered softly.

Nathan grinned and grabbed her arm and made their way out of the water. Haley giggled to herself as Nathan quickly packed up their things.

"Eager much?" She teased as Nathan continued to dump everything onto their beach towel and bag.

He walked over to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheeks. "You know it." He grinned as he not so casually placed her hand above his growing groin. She instantly turned red and helped join Nathan to get the rest of their things.

"Eager much?" He shot back at her.

"I just can't wait to get out of these wet clothes." She said seductively as she walked right by him. His breathing was ragged but he really couldn't help himself. They've been going at it like rabbits the night before and this morning but he couldn't help it, every time he was with her, he wanted more up to the point of exhaustion when his body couldn't handle it anymore. But right now, they both had a couple of hours to recharge and Nathan was making sure they weren't going to waste any time.

They made it inside and Nathan instantly pulled Haley to him but she managed to pull out before he could kiss her.

"Hales.. you're killing me." He wined as the fabric of his swimming shorts were stretched.

She casually walked up the stairs and up to the bathroom. "Well I told you, I couldn't wait to get out of these wet clothes." She said as she closed the bathroom and Nathan could hear the shower running. He tried to open the door but she locked it. Luckily for him, there was another entrance through his room. He quietly stepped inside the bathroom, which was now steaming from the hot water. He removed his swimming trunks and jumped into the tub with Haley.

"Nathan!" She shrieked.

"Think you could get rid of me that easily." He said as he pressed his body against hers and lean in to give her a kiss. She pulled away from him and grabbed the body wash, determined not to let Nathan ruin her shower. He took it from her though and poured some onto his hands as he gently started to lather her from the back.

"How does that feel?" He asked in a husky voice.

She smiled, remembering the last time they were like this. "Better." She repeated her words. She let out a small moan as Nathan's fingers sent electricity through out her body.

"It looks like you had sand everywhere..I guess I have to make sure I get every spot." He continued as his hands practically grabbed her breasts and lathered it. Pouring more of the body wash into his hands, he continued to clean her, his hand ran down her side, through her flat stomach and down her legs and thighs, but he made sure to save the best part for last. She pressed up against him as his hands worked between her thighs, causing her to buckle against him. He ran his fingers through her and back around to her firm ass. His hands moved faster and she grabbed onto him to steady herself as he sent her over the edge.

She continued to lean up against him, trying to catch her breath and then she turned around and locked lips with his. He couldn't hold it back any longer as he pressed her hard against the bathroom wall and her legs instantly wrapped around his waist. He held her small frame up as he moved inside her. With no self control left, he let her have it, pulling in and out of her with such speed and force that left Haley moaning and calling out his name until he once again he had her going over the edge. That was more than enough for Nathan to join her.

They were catching their breathes as the warm waters continued to rain down on them. Haley felt weak in the knees and if it wasn't for Nathan holding her up, she would've fell on the floor. Nathan gathered his strength and reached for the knob and turned off the water. With Haley still on him, he carefully maneuvered his way out of the tub and carried her with him to his bed. He laid her down gently as he placed sweet kisses all along her body.

Later, Nathan and Haley laid in bed, content of just being in each other's presence. The hour was growing late and Haley knew it was almost time to leave. She reluctantly got up.

"We should go." She said.

"I don't want to." Nathan replied.

"I know.. me either.." She leaned over and kissed her. "We had our day.. now we have to go back to school tomorrow." She gave him a smile.

Nathan smiled back at her, knowing she was right. He needed to make sure he saw Whitey first thing tomorrow and come up with an excuse as to why he wasn't in practice today. He got up and the two of them started to get dressed and gathered their things. They left shortly thereafter and Nathan was driving Haley back to her home.

They were near her house and he parked around the corner so that no one would see them together. "Today was perfect.. thank you Hales." Nathan said leaning into give her a gentle kiss.

Xxxx

"There you are!" Lucas exclaimed as Haley entered her room.

"LUCAS!!" She was surprised. "What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay with you know.. your umm.. woman thingy.. it must've been bad if you had to miss school." He said nervously.

She laughed, trying to hide her guilt for lying. "It's called cramps Lucas.. geez.. well as you can see I'm perfectly fine."

"Where'd you go?" Lucas asked curiously. "Where you at the beach?"

"Beach?"

"Yeah.. you looked tan."

"Yeah.. I went to the beach.. by lunch time, the pain subsided and since it was a nice day out .. I decided to go read and do some work there." She said gesturing to her bag that she was carrying, though it was full of her clothes instead of books.

"Well… I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Yep.. thanks for stopping by Luke.. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah.. see you tomorrow." He said leaving her room and then pausing real quick to notice a stack of her school books by her computer.

He tried to keep a straight face and turned back to her. "Bye Hales."

"Bye Lucas."

Lucas left Haley's house with a feeling that something was wrong. She was hiding something from him and he could feel it. Then he stopped and noticed that Nathan's car was parked not too far away. Suddenly the thought of him had him burning. He had such a good day today. Despite Haley not being there, Nathan was also absent, which made practice today a whole lot bearable. He wondered what Nathan was doing here? Probably banging some whore around the block, he thought. He suddenly felt bad, he had been so worked up with his own problems with school and basketball that he was neglecting Haley. She was his best friend and he was ignoring her. She probably didn't want to burden him with her problems because of his own. He felt guilty and promised himself to be there more for Haley. With a determined outlook, he was definitely going to get to the bottom of things.

Xxx

Haley heard the front door close and she sighed in relief and sat on her bed.

Nathan came right in. "Coast clear?" Luckily for Nathan, Haley went up the stairs first and was able to hide when Haley called out Lucas' name.

"Yes." She said as she got up and pulled him into a kiss.

"I thought we were going to have dinner?" He asked between kisses.

"Well… I was thinking of skipping straight to dessert first." She said as she started to tug on his shirt.

When she was saying bye to Nathan, she realized that she was going to be sleeping alone. She didn't want that and could already feeling herself missing him. It was bad enough they had to hide their relationship but her parents weren't home and they could at least extend their day all the way through the night. She hated lying to Lucas and knew that she was hurting him but she was already in way too deep with Nathan and she couldn't let go even if she wanted to.

To Be Continued . . .

I wrote some of these scenes in pieces before I put it all together today, this story is a lot more sexual than I thought it would be, oh well hehe. Now that I finished "Make it Work" and made some good headway with "Thicker than Blood" I am going to make this story my top priority. I have the whole story mapped, not written but I know what I want to happen with each chapter. The story looks like it will end with 19 chapters, maybe more, maybe less.


	9. Chapter 9

Winners and Losers

Winners and Losers

Chapter 9

Hey everyone, thanks for your reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying the Naley, I love writing it. I saw that the reviews dropped somewhat within the last few chapters, I think I may have been too slow in divulging information but the ball starts rolling with this chapter. I must warn those that the sexual content in here might offend some, or quite the opposite for others, hehe. Enjoy and please review!!

p.s. Thank you for your reviews for my other story, Make it Work .. if you were laughing reading it, you can imagine how I was writing it. Like many of you, I am sad to see it end but there's only so much to write and I wanted to end on a high note, which I think I did. Thanks !!

Xxxxxxx

"Okay.. now try it again Nathan.. remember _FOIL_." Haley said as they sat down in her kitchen table doing homework together. She was still covered with pimples but at least she was feeling like some of her strength was coming back. Despite's Nathan's whining. She insisted that they get some work done instead of spending another day in front of the TV and eating junk food.

"Right.. FOIL.." Nathan repeated to himself as he redid the problem. _First.. outer .. inner .. last.. first.. outer .. inner .. last.. first.. outer .. inner .. last,_ he kept repeated to himself. He put the pencil down and slid his paper to Haley.

She looked over at it and with her red pen gave him a big check and a smiley face. "Great job.. Nathan.. see you got the hang of it now."

"Wait.. I got it right?" Nathan asked surprised and Haley nodded.

"And I didn't even have to look over at your paper this time." He commented.

"Nathan!!" Haley was quick to reply.

Nathan laughed. "Look Hales.. you're a great help.. you should like tutor for real."

"You think?" Haley asked. "I mean.. I wanted to go for the tutoring center but they don't really open up any spots to freshmen."

"Please Haley.. you're probably smarter than most sophomores." He smiled at her and Haley couldn't help but blush. Nathan started to think of the first time he met Haley and some of their encounters of the years. There was always something about her that drew him to her. One memory in particular was playing itself in his mind.

_(Chapter 6)_

_He smiled, but she still looked sad. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips._

"_What was that for?" She questioned._

"_Well everytime my dad buys my mom something she loves, she gives him a kiss to thank him.. so that's my thank you." He stated and Haley smiled._

He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She was caught off guard to say the least. She remembered the first time he kissed her, they were little kids that didn't know anything better, but now she was older and at a kiss was certainly not just a kiss anymore. Her lips still tingled as his mouth left hers. She was speechless to say the least, Haley James, complete rambler was at a loss for words.

"Wha.. what was that for?" She finally managed to mutter.

"To thank you for your help." He replied simply. He looked down trying to get a hold of himself and then looked back at Haley. "Um… I'd like to thank you again."

As soon as Nathan said those words, Haley froze. She didn't know what to say or what to do. Nathan leaned in slowly, giving her time to back away if she wanted to, but she didn't. He was slow and gentle but then pressed harder. Then she felt something completely unexpected and pulled back.

"What was that?!"

"What? You mean my tongue."

"YES! .. what was it doing in my mouth?!" Haley demanded. Nathan chuckled and moved his seat closer to Haley. Everything was happening so fast and she was experiencing all these feelings she never felt before and having someone's tongue down her throat was one of them.

"Look.. just trust me on this.. let _me_ teach you something."

"But.." She tried to protest but it was too late as his mouth was back to hers. She was getting lost in the kiss and this time didn't fight Nathan as his tongue south entrance. Finally pulling back, Haley was left breathless.

"Wow… where'd you learn that?"

"Seen it at the movies." He shrugged and leaned back in and kissed her once more. This time the kiss was more intense and more passionate as Nathan cupped her cheeks. Finally needing air, Nathan pulled back but his head still rested on hers. Her heart was racing and her head was swirling and she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with her sickness. She smiled warmly at him.

"Is this your way out of getting out of doing your English assignment?" She teased.

"You know it!" He replied as his lips were back on her.

Their little make out session; however, was interrupted by the phone ringing. "Wait.. I should get it." Haley said as she tried to get away from Nathan.

"Let it ring." He muttered and continued to kiss her. That was all Haley needed and she and Nathan continued to make out. Unfortunately, the phone continued to ring as well. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he finally pulled back and allowed Haley to answer the phone.

"Hello…. Luke!! Hey!" Haley smiled warmly into the telephone. Nathan instantly cringed at the sound of his name.

"No you can not come over here… no…. I don't care how bored you are … ummm.. hello I'm sick and then you'll be sick too …. Wait hold up, what happened to Marvin? … Mouth? Where the hell did that come from? …. No….. no… oh my god .. haha." Haley laughed out loud.

Nathan tapped his foot impatiently, while Haley continued to talk on the phone. He shook his head, realizing that she completely forgot about him. He started to gather his things and that's when Haley finally noticed him.

"Oh.. hey Luke.. lemme call you back later…. What do you mean why… I have things to do … what just cuz I'm sick I can't do anything… look I gotta go.. bye …. Bye ….. fine fine .. BYE!!" Haley finally hung up the phone on Lucas.

"Wait.. Nathan .. where are you going?"

"Oh.. I didn't want to interrupt your call." He said with a little annoyance and anger in his voice. Haley started to feel guilty. She'd been spending so much time with Nathan that she completely ignored Lucas. It really wasn't her fault. He never had chicken pox yet.

"We haven't even done your English assignment?"

"It's okay." He replied quickly. "I can do it myself."

She pouted, knowing that he was determined to leave. "Oh okay.. I thought that if I helped you out again.. you'll get to thank me again." She said softly as she bit her lower lip. Nathan turned around and smirked, then walking right back to his chair and putting his book bag back down.

Xxxxx – The Present …

"Okay.. now try it again Nathan.. remember _SOHCAHTOA_." Haley said as her and Nathan were going over problems in Nathan's kitchen. Despite's Nathan's whining, she insisted that they get some work done instead of fooling around. She was after all his official tutor.

"Right.. _SOHCAHTOA_.." Nathan repeated to himself as he redid the problem. _,_ _SOHCAHTOA_ … _SOHCAHTOA_, he kept thinking to himself. _Okay, so that would be adjacent over hypotenuse… so that would be cosine_. Nathan thought to himself as he did the problem and plugged numbers into his calculator. He worked out the problem then put his pencil down and slid his paper to Haley.

She looked over at it and with her red pen gave him a big check and a smiley face. "Great job.. Nathan.. see you got the hang of it now."

"Wait.. I got it right?" Nathan asked surprised and Haley nodded.

"And I didn't even have to look it up on my cheat sheet." He commented as he waved his TI-83 calculator. These super calculators did more than just add, they also let you have programs that let you play games like tetris or have a notepad feature where you can store notes.

"Nathan!!" Haley was quick to reply.

Nathan laughed and then leaned in towards her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you." He smiled warmly and once again Haley was lost in his eyes. She was about to lean in for another kiss when the sound of her phone started to go off. She was about to reach for it but Nathan stopped her and locked lips with her once more.

"Let it ring." He muttered as his lips closed in on hers. Unfortunately though, that didn't stop the phone from ringing. Nathan sighed in frustration and finally released Haley from his grasp.

"Hey Luke." Haley said picking up her phone and Nathan immediately rolled her eyes.

"Hey Hales.. what you up to?" Lucas asked.

"Just tutoring." She said honestly.

"Oh, I just came from the tutor center."

Haley grew a little nervous. "Of course I'm not there.. it's a nice day.. there's nothing like a little fresh air and sunlight to get the mind going… anyways.. what're you up to?" She quickly changed topics.

"Going to go home.. wanna come over? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"You just saw me today .. gee someone is being overly dramatic today.. the rumors about you and Brooke Davis must be true.. she's starting to rub off on you." Haley teased and tried her best to keep the conversation off of her.

"Geez.. a guy can't have coffee with anyone anymore." Lucas retorted. Haley laughed and turned around to see Nathan, shaking his legs impatiently.

"Look.. I'll take a rain check.. got a lot of work to do.. how about breakfast at the café?" Haley suggested knowing that she hasn't been spending a lot of time with Lucas lately, especially after she cut school over a week and a half ago. She didn't want him to become suspicious. She had to be careful, she's been noticing that he's been taking a bigger interest as to her whereabouts. _Was he on to me?_ She wondered, but pushed those thoughts aside. _He was always like that_, she reasoned, it's just that she's paying more attention to it now.

xxxxx

"K breakfast it is … Bye." Lucas said to Haley and he put his phone back in his pocket. He picked up his bookbag and made it over to his car. Then it suddenly dawned on him. He got out of the car and was about to go inside his house then he turned around and looked at the cloudy skies.

xxxxx

Just knowing that Haley was talking to Lucas made Nathan's blood boil and then there was the fact that she suggested to be with him tomorrow morning instead of with him. He tried to shake off these feelings and tried not to let it get the best of him again. If only Lucas knew where Haley was before their little breakfast. Nathan licked his lips and stared seductively at Haley. She put her phone down and almost immediately Nathan scooped her up in his arms.

"Nathan!!" She protested. "I'm slipping…… you're going to drop me!!"

"Drop you??" He mocked. "If I wanted to I can shoot you across this room like a three pointer.. you want me to try?"

"No! Don't you dare!" She protested as Nathan quickly carried her up the stairs and into her room. He placed her on his bed and immediately started to kiss her. She giggled as his tongue attacked the soft spot of her neck.

"What're you doing?"

"Thanking you."

She laughed some more. "Is this your way of getting out of doing your world lit assignment?"

He started unbuttoning her shirt and kissed her once more. "You know it!" He said eagerly. Nathan moved quickly as he removed his shirt and undid his jeans. He unclasped Haley's bra as he left soft kisses along her breasts, gently sucking on one of her nipples. He reached for her jeans and slowly slid them off. He placed kisses all along her stomach and navel. His hand reached for her panties and he slowly pealed them off and his mouth moved lower.

"What was that?!" Haley suddenly screamed and her body flinched away from him.

"What? You mean my tongue." Nathan smirked.

"YES! .. what was it doing … _there_??" Haley demanded.

Nathan chuckled, "Look.. just trust me on this.. let _me_ teach you something or rather show you." He grinned.

"But.." She tried to protest but it was too late as he pushed his mouth between her legs. A wave of pleasure suddenly shot through her. This was nothing like she ever felt before. Nathan managed to send her body to new heights she never thought was possible. Then again, it was Nathan. His tongue was deep inside her was sending her body into over drive. Nathan held on to her hips as her body squirmed with a new sense of pleasure. Her legs started to wrap around his neck and he knew she was close. She moaned softly, trying to hold back the pleasure she felt, but it was becoming too much for her to bear as she screamed his name over and over again.

xxxxx

"More coffee?" Lucas suggested as he passed the pot towards Haley. It was the fifth time this morning she was yawning and she looked exhausted. This was the third straight breakfast they had at the café and the third time in a row that Haley came in, looking a little more disheveled than usual and being late. Well 5 minutes wouldn't really be counted as late but for Haley James, 5 minutes might as well have been 50 minutes. He suggested doing something today after school, but as usual Haley made up some excuse, tutoring or work, or doing something with her parents. He didn't even know they were back. Haley's dad got promoted, but it also took him out of town a lot for business trips and her mom would often accompany him as their way of seeing the world. At this point, Lucas knew better than to push the topic, he knew she was hiding something. Lucas took another sip of his coffee, determined to find out what it was.

The day passed like any normal day. Lucas went to his classes, had lunch with Haley and even caught a few stolen glances from Brooke Davis. It was an unlikely meeting as their paths never crossed before. But he being a basketball player and she being a cheerleader, and on one particular day when Brooke accidentally locked herself out of the car after cheer and basketball practice, their paths crossed. Lucas offered a ride and from there the most unlikely of _friendships_ occurred.

Practice was actually not that bad anymore. Sure some of the guys there were still asses, but for the most part, nothing really happened since Nathan kidnapped him and left him at the ditch. He came in, stretched, did drills, played, shot. He left Nathan alone and he did the same. They didn't talk and their only means of communication were during games and when Whitey put them on the same time during scrimmages. With most of the tension gone, the Ravens continued to do well in the season and Whitey backed off from riding his and Nathan's butts on the court.

After practice, Lucas was about to go home but realized he forgot a book in his locker. He went back to his locker to get it. After retrieving the book, he started to head out, but noticed someone leaving the tutoring center. It was Haley. He thought she left by now. He was about to call out for her but something stopped him. Instead, he followed her. It was the wrong thing to do, he knew it, but his curiosity got the best of him.

The next thing he knew, he was by the docks and Lucas kept his distance as Haley took a seat at a table over looking the water. She reached into her bag and pulled out some books. The weather was nice and people were out and about strolling or fishing by the railings. Lucas shook his head, knowing that this was probably nothing. She enjoyed reading or doing work outside just like he did. He remembered going to the roof of his mom's café and the two of them would do homework or read up there sometimes. He felt bad for doubting her, guilty for not trusting her. He turned around and was about to leave but someone else from the other direction caught his eye.

Lucas' heart raced and his eyes followed the figure. He was silently praying that this wasn't what he thought it was. But his prayers were left unanswered as his worst fears came to light. He watched in horror as none other than Nathan Scott took a seat right across from Haley. He saw that cocky smile on his face and Lucas grew cold and angry as Nathan must've said something because Haley laughed and was now smiling. Nathan had two drinks in his hand and offered one to Haley before taking a sip from his own. Then Lucas saw Nathan reach into his book bag and pulled out his books.

_Xx Flashback xX (Chapter 4)_

"_Hales, you sure you're okay?"_

"_Why wouldn't I?"_

"_I'm your bestfriend Hales.. I know these things.. now what's going on?"_

"_I don't want to bother you.. especially with everything going on."_

"_Don't give me that.. c'mon I want to help."_

"_It's just been a long day and there was this guy.."_

"_Guy?"_

_Haley took a deep breath. "Yeah.. this guy I have to tutor." She tried to play it off._

"_Didn't go well?"_

_She shook her head. "He's an ass." Haley said bluntly._

_Lucas laughed. "He can't be that bad.. I mean no one's a bigger ass than Nathan, right." Lucas tried to joke._

Xx End Flashback xX

Lucas couldn't watch anymore as he turned away and leaned in against the wall, which hid his figure. _"He can't be that bad.. I mean no one's a bigger ass than Nathan, right." Lucas tried to joke._ But little did he know that the joke was on him. Lucas left shortly thereafter, trying to make sense of it all.

The End …

… APRIL FOOLS !! … sorry had to do it, of course it's: To Be Continued . . .

And so it begins .. hehe.. The _FOIL_ is from Algebra I and _SOHCAHTOA_ from Trig for you math illiterate. True story but I didn't know about _SOHCAHTOA_ until I reached college and even then I never memorized it, I don't know how I went through 4 semesters of calculus with out that, it actually does help haha. So I am going back home this weekend to see my family and I'm not sure how busy I'll be but I'll try to update as much as I could. I haven't started the next chapter of "Thicker than Blood" but I hope to get that up by Thursday and I already know what to write for the next chapter in this story. I hope you enjoyed and please review !!


	10. Chapter 10

Winners and Losers

Winners and Losers

Chapter 10

Sorry for the delay and thank you all for the reviews. Besides personal stuff and work stuff going on, there was sort of a writer's block as to how to get to the next chapter now that Lucas knows that Haley is tutoring Nathan.

I also noticed something weird today. Haley said in the last episode that she didn't want to be an absentee parent and that if she had to sacrifice a little, then so be it. And if you saw the previews for next week, they are looking for another nanny. I'm confused, how is that not being an absentee parent!? I enjoyed the preview scene but it'd be really stupid and a waste of time and money hiring another actor to play a nanny when it seems both Nathan (who is jobless by the way) seems more than capable of watching their son. Also, now that Mia is gone, where does Haley go after school that ends the same time her son's school ends? Makes no sense at all. Anyways..here is the next chapter .. thank you for your patience and please review !!

Xxxx

"There you are!" Nathan said grabbing a hold of Haley and then capturing her lips. He leaned in against her forehead. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too." Haley said breathlessly.

"What took you so long?"

"Lucas.." Haley said as she kissed him back.

"He's been a little needy, huh?"

"He wouldn't let me leave.. I guess you Scott boys always want a piece of me huh?" Haley teased. Nathan hated the mention of Lucas' name or the fact that Haley hung out with him, but he had to learn how to deal with it. He already made mistakes in the past and he had to tread carefully or else risk loosing Haley again. For the past week, Nathan had barely seen Haley thanks to Lucas. In his eyes, Lucas was spending too much time with her.

"I don't know what he wants.. but I want a piece of this.." He said in a low and husky voice as he grabbed her ass and carried her over to his bed.

Xxx flashback xxX

"There you are!" Lucas said as he gave Haley a big hug and twirled her around.

"Miss me much?" Haley teased.

"These last two weeks have been so boring… how does it feel to be back?"

"Ehh.. same old." Haley said dismissively. Today was her first day back at school after getting the chicken pox. The truth was that she wished she was still sick. The past two weeks she spent at home was nothing she imagined it to be.

For nearly two weeks, she spent most of her time with Nathan and she already missed him terribly. They would hang around, watch movies or TV, even helped him out with his school work. Every time he did a problem right, he rewarded her tutoring skills with a kiss. It didn't take long for Nathan to make all sorts of excuses to kiss her and she didn't mind at all. She remembered how they would hang out in her room, watching a move and Nathan would lean in and run his finger through her hair and then gently press his lips against hers. Haley got tingles just thinking about it, but now things were different. She was back at school and she didn't know what to do with this thing with her and Nathan. She couldn't tell Lucas, he wouldn't understand and he would be mad at her.

"Well don't work too hard your first day back.. I gotta go.. my class is on the other side of the building.. I'll catch you at lunch." Lucas said before taking off. Haley watched him go and then turned to the corner where she saw another pair of blue eyes on her. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt nervous.

"Hey." Haley said walking to Nathan.

"Hey." Nathan looked away and turned his attention to his locker.

"So what's up?"

"Nothing."

"Where you going?"

"To class, where else?"

Haley sighed, this was getting nowhere. "Are you mad at me?"

"I'm not mad." Nathan clenched his fist. "I wouldn't want to bother you and your boyfriend that's all."

"Nathan.. you know Lucas is my best friend."

"Yeah?… that hug he gave you seemed more than friendly."

"Nathan.."

"Look I'm going to be late." Nathan stated and slammed his locker shut and then turning around and walking away.

Xx End Flashback xX

Lucas paced back and forth in his room. He hated this, he hated everything. His best friend was lying straight to his face. Last week, he finally discovered why Haley had been acting so weird. She was tutoring Nathan, the jack ass she referred to before turned out to be the jack ass of them all. There were so many questions running through his mind, but one thing for sure was that he was trying his best to keep Haley close to him at all times.

Every chance he got, he would try to hang out with Haley. Yet, Haley would always come up with some sort of excuse to not make it or leave early. Today, for example, they were hanging out at his mom's café. When Karen asked Lucas to help put some boxes away in the back, Haley made her move and left. He knew she was probably with him and the thought made him sick. He wanted her to come to him, to come clean about Nathan. Nathan Scott was trouble and he hated to see him poison the goodness that was Haley. Reaching for his phone, he dialed her number again.

RING RING

_Not again_, Nathan rolled his eyes. Him and Haley were lying on his bed, content in being in each other's arm after yet another round of mind blowing pleasure.

"Don't answer it." Nathan complained.

"This is the third call." Haley said and picked up the phone.

"Hey Luke." Haley tried to sound upbeat.

"Hey.. what you doing?"

"Oh just hanging out."

"Cool.. I was thinking of renting some movies.. you want to watch at your place or mine?"

"No.. I can't" Haley was quick to respond. "Maybe some other time."

"Why? I thought you weren't doing anything."

"I didn't say I wasn't doing anything."

"Ok then, so what're you up to."

"Stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Yes."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Umm.. personal stuff… Luke can you please drop this?"

"What's going on Haley?" Lucas held the phone closer to his ear, hoping that she would finally come clean with tutoring Nathan.

"It's a woman thing Luke.. I don't think you want the gory details."

"Eeww.. ewww.. I'll talk you later." Lucas quickly hung up.

As soon as Haley put her phone down, Nathan immediately started laughing. "Nice one James."

"Yeah.. I didn't want to use that card but Lucas was leaving me no choice."

"He seems more trouble than he's worth.. you should totally just cut him off your life."

"You'd like that wouldn't you huh?" She teased.

"More than you know." He pulled her closer to him. "Then.. that'll make you all mine."

"I'm already all yours.." She said sincerely, running her hand through his dark hair. Nathan couldn't help the smile that formed on his face and he leaned in forward to gently kiss her. Then he rolled her over so now he was on top of her.

"Well.. let's see if I can help you out with some of you 'womanly' issues." He grinned.

Xx Flashback xX

"What're you doing her?" Nathan questioned.

"Just wanted to see if you want to.. you know.. hang out."

"Why? Did your boyfriend dump you?" Nathan scoffed as he reached over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"He's not my boyfri.. you know what forget it .. I mean I came out all this way to hang out with you .. I guess I could hang out with my best friend.. my best friend who suddenly developed chicken pox and who'll be out of commission for the next few weeks." Haley said, grabbing her bag and was about to head out.

"Wait… hold up." Nathan said, grabbing a hold of her. "I have some movies we can watch.. I mean if you want to."

Haley smiled as Nathan lead her to the living room. Nathan put on the movie but their attentions were definitely not on the screen. As soon as they sat down, Haley leaned over towards Nathan and soon enough, a full make out session was in full effect. That was until Haley's phone started ringing.

"Don't answer it." Nathan said in between kisses. Haley was so caught up that she didn't care and continued to kiss Nathan. A couple of minutes later though, Haley couldn't take it.

RING RING

_Not again_, Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Don't ..." Nathan pouted

"This is the third call." Haley said and picked up the phone.

"Hey Luke." Haley tried to sound upbeat.

"Hey Hales.. what you up to?"

"Just hanging around.. watching a movie.."

"What movie?"

"Um.. I don't know.. something was just playing on TV but I got caught up in something else.. anyways.. how's the sick life?"

"Sucks.. totally bored out of my mind.. I don't know what the hell you did to pass the time."

Haley smiled, if he only knew.

"Don't worry Luke.. you'll live."

"Anyways.. I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out."

"But you're sick."

"So .. you already had chicken pox.. I mean if I was going to catch it anyways, I might as well have had it with you. .at least then we could've suffered together."

"I didn't _suffer_." Haley was being truthful.

"Whatever.. anyways.. you can still hang out here.."

"Luke.." Haley was trying to think of a way to get out of this.

"Plus my mom has some soup in the café and I would appreciate it if my bestest friend in the whole wide world went there to pick it up for me… you know especially since my very single mother is working all by her lonesome self." Lucas knew how to guilt trip Haley into doing things for him.

"Fine.." Haley grumbled then hung up.

"Sorry Nate.. but I have to go."

"Your boyfriend calling?"

"Nathan please don't be mad.. Lucas is sick.. he needs me to bring him soup."

"Can't someone else do that?"

"His mom is working.. look Nate.. Lucas and his mom .. they don't always have it so easy.. if you just got to .."

"Haley don't!" Nathan stated as he got up and turned the TV off.

Haley sighed. "I'll.. I'll see you later.."

Xx End Flashback xX

"All done!" Haley said proudly.

"Damn.. that was fast." Lucas said looking up from his homework.

School and practice were over and He and Haley were at the library doing some work together. The truth was that Haley was going to meet with Nathan and she worked extra fast to make sure she can spend as much time with him as possible.

"Well what can I say.. I'm just that good." Haley teased.

"Yeah.. we'll see.." Lucas said as he grabbed Haley's sheet. "Number twenty three is wrong." Lucas stated.

Haley looked over at her paper and then at Lucas'. "No.. I'm right .. the answer is three.. you forgot to carry over the one." Haley was quick to point out.

Lucas looked over his paper again. "Crap.. I guess you are that good."

"Never doubt it." Haley teased as she got up and gathered her things.

"Where you going?"

"Going to run some errands.."

"I'll go with you."

"No… it's okay.. you should stay and finish your homework.. it looks like you'll need all the time you need." She tried to joke.

"Where are you going to go?"

"Out.. daym Luke.. what's with the all the questions." Haley tried not to act nervous.

"Nothing." Lucas muttered.

Knowing that she had to play a little a defense, Haley quickly added. "I told my mom I'd help her out running errands if I finished early." She lied but this time Lucas knew it as was well.

"No, you're not." Lucas stated as Haley was about to leave.

"Huh?"

"I spoke to your mom last night."

"Wh.. why were you talking to my mom?"

"Since someone wasn't picking up their phone last night, I called your house and talked to your mom. She apparently didn't know where you were and she also mentioned in passing that she was going away with your dad on a business trip."

"Luke.. um.."

"Would you just stop lying to me okay!?"

"…."

"I know." He said softly.

"_Know?_" Haley's heart was racing a mile a minute.

"You and Nathan." Lucas said staring straight into Haley's eyes.

_Busted._

To Be Continued . . .

The next few chapters are going to be crazy.. and dramatic hehe. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Please review and don't forget OTH tom night! Who-hoo.


	11. Chapter 11

Winners and Losers

Winners and Losers

Chapter 11

Thank you guys for the reviews, sorry it's been so long. Things have been hectic and a serious writer's block developed. Enjoy and please review!

Xxxx

"Would you relax?" Nathan asked as he grabbed a hold of Haley's shoulder. They were currently in a secluded wooded area over looking the beach. It was a beautiful setting, trees and grass with little purple flowers that lined the area. It was also set up in a cliff, which over looked the beach and all you can hear were the sound of seagulls and the waves crashing. Nathan was sitting down, leaning up against a tree with Haley in front of him, their legs intertwined.

"How am I supposed to relax? This was the first time I got kicked out of a library.. me kicked out .. can you believe it?"

Nathan chuckled, only Haley would be concerned about getting kicked out of the library.

"Oh gosh, Nathan.. you should've seen him, he was so mad and disappointed.." Haley sighed and rested her head against his chest.

"Well.. if you want.. I can beat him up… again."

"Shut up .. this isn't funny.. I don't know what to do.."

"Well you know my answer.."

"Unfortunately… I do." Haley sighed again. She knew that Nathan would like nothing more than to cut Lucas out of her life, but she couldn't. They were best friends and she couldn't just do that. She was scared how he would react when he found out about her and Nathan. She had two men in her life, both brothers, both in love with her but for completely different reasons and she the same. And the two hated each other, but she knew if she knew if she could just get them to talk to each other, to get to know the other person better, then maybe things would be okay. She wouldn't have to choose, in this situation it shouldn't be one against the other but for Haley that's exactly how it was for now.

Xxx Flash back xxX

"I spoke to your mom last night." Lucas stated.

"Wh.. why were you talking to my mom?" Haley responded hesitantly.

"Since someone wasn't picking up their phone last night, I called your house and talked to your mom. She apparently didn't know where you were and she also mentioned in passing that she was going away with your dad on a business trip."

"Luke.. um.."

"Would you just stop lying to me okay!?"

"…."

"I know." He said softly.

"Know?" Haley's heart was racing a mile a minute.

"You and Nathan." Lucas said staring straight into Haley's eyes.

_Busted._ "Nathan?" Haley still tried to act coy.

"Would you just stop lying!" Lucas pounded his fist against the table, causing some of the other students to look at their direction.

"Luke.. would you calm down?"

"Calm down!?" He said in a louder tone. "How could you tutor him after all he's done!?"

_Tutor?_ Haley started to wonder how much he really knew.

"Trying to come up with more lies?" Lucas scoffed.

"Lucas.."

"No.. don't! I saw you tutoring him last week.. all those times you werer busy.. you were with him weren't you!?"

".. yes.." She said softly, at least glad that this time she wasn't lying.

"Excuse me!" One of the librarians came up to them. "You're disrupting the other students." The old woman glared.

"Sorry.." Haley was quick to apologize.

"Don't worry.. I was just heading out!" Lucas exclaimed and quickly gathered his things and stormed out of the library.

Xxx End flashback xxX

"I should go talk to him." Haley stated, lifting her head from Nathan's chest.

"Stay.." Nathan pleaded. "Let him cool off."

"Since when are you concerned?"

"I'm not.. I just want some more alone time with you." He said as he leaned forward and kissed her. She melted against his lips and then she moved forward and Nathan wrapped her arms around her. They laid there together, against the sun, surf and sand. Even being held by him sent Haley butterflies.

"I wish we could stay like this forever.." Haley said softly.

"Me too.."

"Never let me go.."

"I never did.."

xxx Flashback xxx

Haley rang Nathan's doorbell. She hadn't seen him in two days and it was killing her. She figured he was still mad from the last time they saw each other. But she couldn't help it, Lucas was sick and he needed someone to bring food. She knew he was avoiding her but this time Haley had to step it up and talk things out with Nathan.

"Hey." Haley said as Nathan opened the door.

"Hey.." He said, trying to look at anywhere but her.

"Look.. can I come in?"

Nathan thought about it for a second, but he missed Haley terribly and really wanted to just hang out with her. "Yeah.. sure." He said stepping aside.

"Look.. I'll just come out and say it.. I'm sorry."

"…"

"Lucas is my best friend.. and he was sick.. what am I supposed to do?"

"Not go."

"Nathan.."

"Yeah.. look.. whatever.. it's not a big deal."

"I know you and Lucas don't get along."

Nathan started to chuckle. "That's an understatement."

"Fine… you two hate each other.. but see where I'm coming from.. I hate being put in the middle.. it shouldn't have to be about you or him."

Nathan bit his tongue. This was not the time to have this conversation, especially after the crap he received from his father earlier about basketball. He just wanted to relax and have fun and the only person who made him feel that way was her.

"Look.. I still have that movie if you want to watch."

Haley smiled. "I'd love to."

Xx End Flash back XX

It had been two days, two whole days that she hadn't heard from Lucas. She knew he would be upset but she didn't think it would go this far. She figured she'd given him enough space to let him deal with what happened. Instead of going through his private bedroom entrance, she opted for the front door instead.

She rang the doorbell and Lucas opened the door.

"Hey.." She said.

"Hey." Lucas tried to look away.

"Look.. can I come in?"

Lucas thought about it for a second. He's been pretty mad and upset that Haley had been lying to him this whole time. Worst, it all had to do with Nathan. Once again it came back to him and it killed Lucas. At the same time, Haley was still his best friend and he at least owed it to her to hear her out. "Yeah.. okay."

"Look.. I'm just going to come out and say it .. I'm sorry."

"…"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was tutoring Nathan."

"Why him?" He finally spoke.

"Because.."

"Because what? You wanted to make my life even worst."

"No.. it's not like that!"

"Then what is it.. why on earth would you help him… especially after all the crap he put me through.. talk about loyalty here."

"Luke!!" Haley was getting frustrated. "I.. I did it for you!"

"For me?!"

"If I tutored him.. he'd leave you alone."

"What?!" Lucas said floored.

"He was failing… he needed help.. I'm the best tutor at school and I wanted to tell him no.. I actually tried to tell him no.. but he was assigned to me and the only way I agreed to tutor him was if he gave you some slack.."

"…."

Lucas started to think and started to put two and two together. Nathan let off the pressure after Haley mentioned about tutoring some asshole. He couldn't believe how dumb he was and how he didn't put it together earlier.

"Look Hales.. I'm a big boy.. I can take care of myself… Nathan is just using you to get to me and it's working!"

"Listen Luke.. I'm a big girl too and I can handle myself."

"I don't need you to fight my battles."

"You didn't ask.. I offered."

"Haley.."

"No Luke.. you listen here.. all this time I've known you.. all you wanted to do was play ball.. well here's your chance and if tutoring Nathan will somehow make it easier for you to play then so be it.. I've dealt with worst."

"You could just stop tutoring him .. he'll fail and be off the team anyways."

"Yeah.. and I'm sure the rest of the team who he's best friends with will love that.."

"Look Hales.. I appreciate what you're trying to do.. but I don't like this .. and I don't like how you've been sneaking around my back.. I wish you would've told me sooner."

"And if I did.."

"I would've stopped you."

"Exactly.. like I said Luke.. I can handle Nathan.. if I ever want to be a real teacher, I would always have to deal with difficult students.. this is no different.. please Luke.. just trust me here."

"I trust you… it's him I'm worried about."

"You don't have to be.. he won't hurt me." She said with conviction.

To Be Continued . . .

Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm holding back on stuff for next chapter. I hope you enjoyed and please review!!


	12. Chapter 12

Winners and Losers

Winners and Losers

Chapter 12

Thank you guys for the reviews. This story has basically been about Nathan, Lucas and Haley. This time, we'll actually get to see some other characters. I can't believe I made it through 12 chapters with out them. No flashbacks to the past this chapter but like I said last chapter, I held back certain scenes but this time, I let it all go and is extra long compared to the previous. This is also probably the most "MATURE" chapter.. you have been warned. I wanted to hold off this chapter until Monday or Tuesday but I got inspired to finish it today and I'm in an updating mood, especially since I haven't done many with this story. Anyways, enjoy and please review.

Xxxx

The Tree Hill Ravens were out on the court warming up. As usual, the place was packed and Haley James took her seat next to her friend Mouth. Nearby, the cheerleaders were also getting ready for tonight's game.

"Oh, see, Lucas looks even hotter in blue. You should totally hook up with him." Brooke said to her friend Peyton.

"Stop it." Peyton retorted.

"What? At the very least you're due for a little rebound action unless you're still into Nathan."

"I'm not… besides Nathan and I broke up a long time ago."

"Alright. Since you're my pal you can have a courtesy hold on Lucas for the weekend, but after that he's fair game."

"He's already fair game, thanks."

"So what's the story with that one anyway?" Brooke asked curiously and looking over at Haley.

"She's tutoring Nathan… supposedly."

"And hanging out with Lucas. _Right_… we're supposed to believe she's just friends with both of them?"

Brooke turned her attention to Haley, where Nathan came running bye and the two exchange a curious glance.

"Did you see that?"

"What?"

"Nathan just gave her the nod."

"What nod?"

"The _lets hook up after the game_ nod… Wanna know what I think? I think Nathan likes tutor girl. But I think tutor girl likes Lucas. And I know I like Lucas. And I don't know who the hell you like anymore. This is all turning into one big love… rectangle plus one, whatever that is.

Peyton couldn't help but laugh at her friend. Brooke certainly is a character.

One Week Earlier . . .

"Everyone keeps looking at me." Haley whispered over to Nathan.

"Tell me his name and I'll kick his ass."

"Nathan.. it's everyone."

"They must've realized how hot you are." Nathan smirked.

"Nathan, quit it I'm serious."

"What.. so am I?"

Nathan and Haley were currently at the library, where all eyes were apparently on them. For the students of Tree Hill, it was a curious site. For starters, the Tree Hill Raven's star player in the library was news enough, the fact that he was sitting down next to a relatively unknown girl was making headlines. Then, there were the people who knew Haley and knew that her and Lucas were friends. To see her with his infamous half-brother Nathan had everyone buzzing. As soon as they sat down, rumors were already spreading like wild fire.

Haley decided that since Lucas knew about the tutoring that they shouldn't have to hide it. Nathan didn't mind at all, though what he had in mind right now, he wanted a different type of tutoring. He was content with just playing it plutonic in front of the crowds, knowing full well behind closed doors, she was completely his. After some talking and yelling and even more yelling, Lucas calmed down enough and although he wasn't happy with the tutoring, he couldn't stop it either. Haley was a big girl and she could do what she wanted, but it killed him to know that she was tutoring Nathan for him. Still, Lucas walked on careful ground, watching and waiting for Nathan to slip so that he could finally take Haley away from him. For Lucas, Nathan was poison and he wasn't going to let him infect his best friend.

"This was a bad idea.. we should've just kept this between us." Haley stated.

"Well.. there's nothing we can do now.. besides.. it'll be good to pass you by the hall and pretend not to know you .."

"Yeah.. that'd be nice.."

"What would be better is if I got to make out with you in front of everyone.. so then they'll know your mine and all these assholes can stop looking at you."

Haley rolled her eyes, trying to ignore his comments. "Umm.. you know that everyone will be looking at us even more now.. which means we have to be extra careful.."

"You know I'd be more bothered by this whole sneaking around thing if it was such a turn on." Nathan smirked.

"Nathan.. stop.." Haley pleaded as she turned red. "We can't do this here.. so shut up and get back to work."

"Yeah.. yeah.. fine." Nathan started chuckling and looked back down on his paper.

"Stop it." Haley warned.

"Stop what? I was doing my work."

"Stop picturing me naked."

"Oh babe.. I always picture you naked." And this time both of them couldn't hold back their laughter.

Across the library though, another pair of blue eyes were looking intently at Haley.

"Earth to Lucas.." Peyton waved her hand over Lucas' face.

"Oh.. sorry.. what did you say?"

"I said did you bring your part of the research project?" Peyton asked.

"Oh yeah.. I have it right here." Lucas said, reaching into his bags and taking out a bunch of papers.

Peyton turned around and saw Nathan and Haley talking and laughing.

"Oh now it makes sense." Peyton stated.

"What makes sense?" Lucas asked, shuffling through his papers.

"Why you're so worked up today.. your ex-girlfriend apparently has moved on to your estranged brother."

Lucas shook his head. "First off.. she's not my girlfriend .. ewww.. and second don't call him my brother.. double eww."

"Yeah yeah whatever.. but what's the deal with those two anyways?"

"She's tutoring him.. okay."

"They look like they're doing more than studying."

"No believe.. it's just studying.. there's no way Haley would ever stoop herself so low as to hook up with the big great jackass Nathan Scott." Lucas said angrily. Peyton looked down and winced at his words. Upon saying it, Lucas completely forgot that Peyton dated Nathan.

"Oh Peyton… hey I'm sorry.. I didn't mean.." Lucas started to babble.

"Lucas.. it's okay.. I'll be the first one to admit that I stooped down as you so called it."

"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to insult you or imply anything."

Peyton gave him a smile. "It's okay Lucas…. Nathan and I .. we were a long time ago."

"Did you like him?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Well of course I liked him."

"No.. I mean.. did you really like him?"

Peyton paused for a moment. She was never one to talk about her feelings, especially when it came to her relationships but then again she never met anyone like Lucas Scott. She could see his predicament, understand why he would ask such questions. Normally, she wouldn't say much about the topic since there isn't much to say. She'd like to think she knew Nathan better than other people and getting to know Lucas over their recent school projects, she had to admit that it was silly for them to be having this feud.

"I think I could've.." Peyton said honestly.

Lucas leaned back with a look asking her to explain more.

"I mean.. Nathan is Nathan.. but there were times.. a few times when it was just us that he let his guard down .. that he wasn't this big man on campus.. I think I could've really fallen for him but he always kept things bottled in.. I blame his dad.. your dad.. he's a real ass.." Lucas winced at the mention of their father, he didn't like to share the same genetic pool as Dan and Nathan, but Peyton did make one good point, Dan is certainly an ass.

".. but I mean there were always the fights.. and the drama.."

"And the cheating?"

"Well.. cheating would require sneaking around.. Nathan made it a point to hook up with other girls in front of me... it was as if he was always looking for someone.. and that person wasn't me or any of the girls that threw themselves at him .. but I will say.." Peyton said turning around and looking at Nathan. "I've never seen him smile so much."

"Yeah.. its probably cuz he knows I'm here and people are watching .. he's using Haley.. I know it and one of these days I'm going to prove it." Lucas said firmly.

"And people wonder why you two are dating?" Peyton teased, trying to lighten up the mood.

"We're just friends.. you know what forget it.." Lucas shook his head and Peyton started to chuckle.

"If I would've known better.. I'd say you like Haley.."

"Gross .. she's like my little sister and like all big brothers.. it's my job to protect her!" Lucas stated.

"Fine.. fine.. now let's get back to work."

A short time later, they managed to dive more into their school project but the period was winding down.

"There you are?!" Brooke said, walking over to Peyton and Lucas. "I've been looking everywhere for you.."

"I told you I was going to be at the library." Peyton responded.

"Yeah.. that's the thing .. I was looking for the library.."

Peyton shook her head, only Brooke Davis would not know where the library was, especially after 3 years of attending the same high school. Lucas chuckled, realizing that this was the first time Brooke stepped foot inside the library.

"Hey Lucas.." Brooke said longingly.

"Hey Brooke.." Lucas smiled back at her.

"So I hear your off the market now.." Brooke crossed her arms.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked.

"That girl you've been seeing … Holly.."

"Haley." Lucas corrected.

"Yeah.. same thing.. rumor has it that she's with your best friend over there." Brooke pointed towards the direction of Nathan and Haley.

"God for the last time.. Haley and I are just friends and her and Nathan are not going out! She's just tutoring the jerk.." Lucas was getting annoyed, especially since he looked over back to Nathan and Haley, who looked a little too comfortable for his liking. He grabbed his things and put in his bag.

"I'll catch up with you later Peyton… bye Brooke.."

"Bye." Both girls said as Lucas walked away.

Brooke took a seat next to Peyton. "So are you hooking up with him?" Brooke asked eagerly.

"Damn Brooke.. you don't stop do you?" Peyton teased.

Xxxx

A week later…

"Haley over here!!" Mouth called out waving his hands.

"Hey Mouth!!" Haley waved back, fighting through the crowds and taking a seat next to Mouth. "Oh my God this place is packed."

"That's how it usually is."

"Yeah.. well I never really went to these things.. thanks for saving me a seat."

"No problem.. I'm going to be commentating on tonight's game.. do you want to be my co-anchor…"

"Um.. thanks Mouth but I'd rather not be associated with you lunacy." Haley teased.

"Fine.. don't say I didn't ask." Mouth said as he reached into his bag and pulled out his microphone and started setting up. Haley looked over at the court, where the guys were warming up. She gave a wave to Lucas and he waved back. Things between them have been strained the past week but Haley felt as if Lucas was finally accepting her tutoring Nathan. It would still upset him, but at least they weren't arguing about it anymore. She secretly hoped that Lucas would eventually lighten up to her and be open to the fact that Nathan and her are friends and then from there, see where it goes.

Lucas went back to warming up and that's when she glanced over to Nathan, who was looking extremely hot in his basketball warm ups. Her thoughts strayed to this past week when he would come to her place straight from practice, where Nathan still had plenty of energy to spare. The ball went out of bounce and Nathan went over to pick it up. He nodded in her direction, with a fire in his eyes that meant only one thing, that he was going to have her screaming all night long. She nodded back and tried to hide the redness forming on her face. She was glad that Mouth was too busy setting up his equipment that he didn't notice. Unfortunately for her, someone did notice.

"Did you see that?" Brooke turned to Peyton.

"What?" Peyton responded.

"Nathan just gave her the nod."

"What nod?"

"The _lets hook up after the game_ nod… Wanna know what I think? I think Nathan likes tutor girl. But I think tutor girl likes Lucas. And I know I like Lucas. And I don't know who the hell you like anymore. This is all turning into one big love… rectangle plus one, whatever that is.

Peyton couldn't help but laugh at her friend. Brooke certainly is a character.

The guys finished warming up and they made their way back to the locker room where Coach Durham gave them one last pep talk before they made their way out on the court. The guys were lining up to go back to the court. Nathan saw Lucas glaring over at him and tried to ignore him. He would love nothing more than to lay Lucas out, but Haley was here. They were meeting up after tonight's game and at that moment, she was more important than dealing with Lucas. But he kept looking and kept looking hard. Nathan finally turned around.

"What?!"

"I'm watching you.." Lucas glared.

"Obviously.."

"I'm on to you .. I know you're just using Haley to get to me and you know what.. it's not going to work.."

"Whatever man .. it's not my fault she likes hanging out with me." Nathan smirked.

"You better watch it."

"And you better spend more time playing D than you are worrying about Haley.. I can't keep carrying this team.."

"You hurt her .. you die."

Nathan scoffed. "I'm more worried about you hurting her…"

"What?"

"All this grief you've been putting her through .. just cuz she's what? Doing her job as a tutor…"

"What? She told you this?"

"Yeah.. I mean what do you think we do during our _sessions_." Nathan smirked.  
"Everyday it's you making her feel guilty.. damn.. some friend you are.. but don't worry.. I got her back." Nathan grinned even wider. _If he only knew that he had Haley's back, front and everything in between._

"You son of …" Lucas muttered under his breath as he clenched his fist.

Xxx

"And now ladies and gentlemen.. I present to you .. your Tree Hill Ravens!!" The announcer announced to the crowd. The crowd stood up and cheered, excited to see their team play. But just like that, Tree Hill's two starting players came rushing out of court, with fists clenched and punches being thrown. Haley gasped and clutched her chest, seeing the two most important men in her life duke it out in front of the whole town.

xxxx

Haley paced back and forth at the nurse's office.

"Haley.." Lucas called out.

"You shut up!" Haley glared at him. "I can't believe you picked a fight with Nathan!"

"What? He started it?!"

"How?! From what the guys on the team said, you've been staring him down all night!"

"Well.. he was looking at you funny."

"Funny?! God Luke.. I tutor him.. I said hi."

"And he said things.."

"What did he say?"

"That I haven't been a good a friend.."

"What?"

"That I've been making you feel guilty.. is it true Haley? Am I really making you that miserable that you have to talk to him about it?!"

Haley sighed and her anger settled. "Luke.. I just wish you would just let this go.. I mean.. I'm tutoring Nathan."

"Just tutoring?"

Haley bit her tongue. "Yes.. Luke.. you can't keep doing this.. I don't need saving.. I'm tutoring him for you.." Haley choose her words carefully. She was already lying, she knew that but it was true that she was tutoring Nathan for Lucas, the rest, well that was for her.

"And that's what killing me!"

"Luke.. this is your chance to play ball.. you have this season and next season ahead of you.. imagine the doors it can open up.. you're a great player and the scouts will notice that.. now please Luke.. don't throw away a good opportunity here because of me.. then I'd feel bad."

Lucas sighed, knowing Haley was right. "Fine.. I'll back off."

"Thank you." Haley said, giving him a hug, but Lucas winced in pain. Nathan sure knew how to throw one down.

Xxx

Haley lied in bed, counting down the minutes. Just then, she heard the front door open and feet walking up the stairs. She was glad her parents weren't there this weekend.

"I was wondering when you would show up." Haley stated.

"Sorry.." Nathan said as he sat at the foot of her bed. "It took a while longer at the nurse's office and then my dad ripped me a new hole over tonight's fight."

Haley sat up and studied Nathan's slightly bruised face. She had to admit that the cuts made him look even hotter.

"Nathan, what happened tonight?"

"I tried to ignore him.. but he just wouldn't stop.."

"It's okay.." Haley said, resting her head against his shoulder. "You told him that he was making me miserable.."

"Yeah.. cuz he is.."

"You shouldn't have said that.."

"I know.. but he likes to think you're his.. when he's wrong! You belong to nobody.. well except me of course." He tried to joke and Haley couldn't help but chuckle. They laid there in comfortable silence before Nathan kicked off his shoes and removed his track jacket, shirt, and sweat pants. Now, just in basketball shorts, he scooted up the bed and rested on Haley's pillow. He had a long night and was tired. Haley rested on his chest and he immediately flinched.

Haley sat up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.. just a little bruised.." He tried to smile. Haley caressed his face and put her hand over a small cut. She leaned forward and kissed it. "Better?"

"Much."

"How about this?" She asked as she kissed another cut on his chin.

"Much better.."

"Where does it hurt?" She asked.

"Here.." He said, putting his hand over his heart. "It hurts when I'm not with you." He said honestly. Haley melted at his words and gently placed a kiss on his chest. "Does it hurt here?" She asked as she kissed his right nipple. Nathan let out a soft moan as she continued this little game, kissing his bruised chest and stomach.

"Does it hurt here?" She looked seductively in his eyes as she rubbed her hand over his shorts. She could already feel that he was more than ready at this point. Nathan gasped and nodded. "It's hurting more than you know." Nathan said, as he was really feeling the tightness of his shorts. She pulled her hair back and gently kissed his outline through his shorts. He gasped again, not expecting her to do that.

Next, she pulled on the waistband of his shorts and gently pulled it off of him. She looked at him transfixed, the site of him still left her breathless. She gently ran her hands through his entire length, Nathan's breathing was slow as he tried his best to hold himself back. Haley enjoyed the effect she was having on him. He was always in control, always in charge but tonight, it was all on her. Pushing away any doubts and fears, she leaned forward and place soft kisses along the entire length. Nathan gasped again as Haley's lips sent him to new heights of pleasure he never though possible. Just when he thought it couldn't get better, Haley looked at him seductively, licking her lips and then swallowing as much of him as she can. Nathan had to grip the headrest just to contain himself. He was too much for her as one hand held him steady as the other gently roamed his chest and stomach.

Nathan held out for as long as he could before spilling himself inside of her. But his passion for her was only heightened now as he kissed her passionately and then flipping her onto her back, now back in the driver's seat, he was determined to be back in control. Haley happily let him take the reigns as he went on his knees and returned the favor.. twice. Then he positioned himself on top of her and in one thrust entered her, once again claiming her body as his and his alone. Their bodies were once again one and for another night it was just them and them alone. There were no worries about Lucas, what their friends and classmates would think or the secrets from the past yet to be revealed.

To Be Continued . . . .

I was going to end the chapter with the brawl and open it up the next chapter with the Laley and Naley scenes but I think ending the chapter with Naley had a better effect. Next chapter, there should be a return to the past, during their freshmen year when Naley first hooked up. The past is important as it plays a big role in what happens to Naley.. as you will see. This is a spoiler, but not really but Lucas will find out more about the tutoring and yeah, he won't be happy. Hehe.. it's coming don't worry !! I hope you enjoyed and please review !


	13. Chapter 13

Winners and Losers

Chapter 13

First off .. I am so sorry !! If you read my other stories, you'll know that I've just been so busy with work and traveling, I've hardly had anytime to myself, let alone write. So I am so sorry, but now the cloud has been lifted, I have next chapter already lined up in my head and should post within the week, it isn't written yet, but I'm hoping your reviews will give me the motivation I need to write faster (hint hint). Again I'm sorry for the delay, and thank you for the feed back. Also to the reader who is appropriately named "you suck" .. I should've been mad at your comments but I actually pity you.. whoever you are.. you are such a loser. I can't believe I'm even taking the time out to respond but I'm not deleting the comment, it actually makes me laugh cuz you are such a hypocrite and I actually feel sorry for you, that you would take the time out of your day to write such a thing.. Haha.

Anyways thank you to all the readers, especially those who left me such wonderful and praiseful comments, enjoy and please review!!

. . . .

A week had passed and Whitey was relieved to see that Nathan and Lucas weren't trying to kill each other on the basketball court. He ripped their heads off last week, the both of them staying quiet while Whitey let them have it. The next day at practice, Whitey wasn't pleasantly surprised to see the two brothers acting civil to each other. Whitey glanced behind him and figured it had to do with the spunky young girl both Scott brothers had their attention on. He knew that Haley was tutoring Nathan, for the life of him he didn't know why, be he was sure it had something to do with Lucas. Whitey shook his head, there was nothing he could do about that.

Haley smiled and gave a little wave to Whitey and the old man smiled back. To most people, Whitey was a scary person but for Haley, he wasn't. Yes, he was a little mean but to her, she would always remember him as the nice old man who coached her older brothers a few years back. She sat back and relaxed a little. Like Whitey, she too was glad that Nathan and Lucas weren't on each other's throat.

"Well well… Haley James.." A voice called out and Haley turned around and immediately rolled her eyes.

"Damien.." Haley narrowed her eyes.

"Fancy seeing you here.." He commented.

"Funny, I can say the same thing for you."

"Aww… I'm hurt Hales.. I only transferred after freshmen year.. don't you know I go to Bear Creek."

"Oh.. well thanks for the warning… I'll make sure to miss the next game.."

"Always the firecracker huh? James…. I'd sure like to light that.."

"WEST!" Another voice called out and Damien turned around.

"Nathan Scott in the flash.." Damien commented.

"Still missing them free throws?" Nathan smirked.

"How's your knee?" Damien smirked back.

"I see you play for the Bears now.. about time you made varsity." Nathan cracked, rubbing it in that Nathan and Damien were the only freshmen to make the first cut for varsity basketball, but in the end Nathan was chosen and Damien was stuck in JV. "Your team's warming up.. it looks like you'll need it.." Nathan stated before Damien could say anything.

Damien was about to say something but backed off. He glared at Nathan for a moment. "I'll see you on the court.." Damien said to Nathan and then turned to Haley. "And Haley.. I'll see you in my dreams.." Damien grinned as he walked away.

Nathan clenched his fist, he seriously wanted to hurt the guy. No one talks to Haley like that, his Haley. "You okay?" He said softly, making sure to keep his distance. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to reach up to her and kiss her. "I'm fine." She simply stated. The place was already packed and the rumor mill was already buzzing about those two already, they didn't need to add gas to the fire. Nathan nodded and sprinted off.

From across the gym, Lucas saw the whole thing. Besides Nathan, the only other person Lucas loathed more was Damien West. He was almost as big of a jerk as Nathan and he remembered the hell he gave Haley during freshmen year. He was almost glad that Nathan stepped in to take care of Damien. Lucas knew for a fact that Nathan didn't like Damien, the two were always competing against each other. Still, the fact that Nathan stepped in only fueled to his speculation that there was definitely something up Nathan's sleeve. Lucas kept his distance this week, mainly for fear from both Whitey and Haley, but he knew something was up and Lucas was determined to find out what.

. . . . Flashback (2 years ago) . . . .

"So Hales.." Damien said taking a seat next to her. "When are we hanging out again?"

"Excuse me?" Haley lifted her eyes from the book she was reading.

"Yeah.. I'm free this Friday if you wanna go hang .. watch a movie or something?"

"Sorry .. I can't.. I have plans.."

"Plans?"

"Yeah.. when I find out .. I'll let you know."

"Always a fire cracker .. that's what I love about you.. so how does 7 o clock sound?"

Haley put her book down and sighed. "Damien… just cuz we worked on a paper together.. or rather.. you typed up the cover page while I mostly did the work.. does not constitute us being friends or anything of the kind.."

"Haley?" Damien looked at her confused. "Our project was on the Civil War.. not the Constitution.."

Haley sighed. "Damien.. would you please go?…"

"Yes Damien.. please go." A voice called out.

"Well look Haley.. if it isn't your personal body guard.."

"Can it West.." Lucas stated. "Haley asked you to go."

"You and your brother.." Damien teased as he got up. "Always so wound up haha." Damien laughed as he walked up. Lucas had a look of hurt as he took a seat next to Haley.

"Are _you_ okay?" Haley asked concerned.

"I'm okay." Lucas said plainly.

"Don't give me that Luke.. is it because he brought up Nathan?.."

Lucas stayed quiet for a moment, staring at the table. ".. I .. I don't want to be compared to him.. I don't want anyone to think we have anything in common because we don't !!.."

"You two are more alike than you think." Haley accidentally slipped.

"Huh? How would you know?" Lucas asked curiously.

"I meant.. you two are brothers.. you two are bound to have things in common.. I mean look at basketball." Haley quickly recovered.

"NO!" Lucas exclaimed. "We're not brothers. . we're not anything.. Nathan Scott is an ass and a jerk and only thinks of himself…"

_That's not true._ Haley thought to herself.

Lucas continued to rant. ".. and I can't believe this whole damn school buys into his act .. all the guys here want to be him.. they have no clue how to be themselves.. and the girls.. worst.. always trying to throw themselves at him.. all sluts I tell you.." Lucas vented his anger and frustration.

"Well.. I'm a girl at this school." Haley was quick to defend herself.

Lucas' expression softened as he took Haley's comment as a joke. "Well of course I didn't mean you .. I know you wouldn't stoop low enough to give Nathan Scott the time of day.. you're so much better than the girls here.. I'm glad that you don't fall for his games.. I don't know what I would do with out you Hales.." Lucas said genuinely.

Haley flashed him a fake a smile, a wave of guilt washing over her. "Same here."

Unbeknownst to them, a certain raven haired boy watched the whole thing from a distance. Besides Lucas, the only other person Nathan loathed more was Damien West. He was actually glad Lucas stepped in, Damien was a jerk. All these years, Nathan knew Damien was jealous of him, especially after what happened during basketball try outs. They were the only two freshmen to make first cut, but it was only Nathan that made it to varsity, while Damien was stuck on JV.

"Still slumming.. huh?" Nathan said cockily.

Damien rolled his eyes and tried to avoid Nathan. The guy almost had a bigger head than he did.

"Jealous huh? Cuz you probably know that Haley James is one of the few girls in this place with a brain to avoid someone like you.. but me on the other hand .. we're going out this Friday."

Damien laughed. "Is that jealousy I see?" Damien mocked.

"Jealous please." Nathan tried to play it off. He tried to hold back his jealousy and anger, knowing that Haley only had eyes for one guy… him. "Of course, only you can get with someone like Holly.."

"Haley.." Damien corrected.

"Whatever.. point is.. she's always hanging around with that loser.. and I don't know whose the bigger loser.. him .. or her for hanging out with him.. but if you wanna scrape from the bottom of the barrel.. that's all you." Nathan lied, saying it in his most cocky voice. "How's JV treating you?" Nathan smirked.

Damien rolled his eyes. "At least I start and I play.. I hope it feels good, keeping that varsity bench warm." Damien smirked back and walked away.

Nathan turned back around and was greeted by the site of Haley, on the verge of tears. She got up to throw something away and had heard everything. He stepped forward to her but she stepped back and quickly went back to the table, safely sitting with Lucas.

. . . End Flash back . . .

Haley watched nervously as the game was too close for comfort. She, like Whitey, were very frustrated with both Scotts at the moment. They were playing selfishly and it was been bad for someone as clueless with sports as Haley to notice it. The bears, under the leadership of Damien West, quickly exploited the Raven's weakness and the Ravens were suffering. There was 10 minutes left in the game and Bears quickly gained speed, increasing their 4 point lead to 18. Frustrated, Whitey threw his hands up and quickly called a time out.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Whitey yelled and sighed. "Last time I checked basketball was a team sport.. TEAM SPORT !! .. if you wanted to be by yourself.. you should've tried out for tennis !!" Whitey yelled in frustration.

"Now .. I don't know what's gotten into you.." Whitey looked squarely at Lucas and Nathan. ".. or whatever issues you're having .. but when a man is free pass it .. when you're being double teamed.. pass the God-daym ball.. I can only carry this team so far.. the rest is up to you.." Whitey shook his head and walked away in frustration.

Nathan took a deep breath, realizing that this was the time to step things up. "Come on guys.. Ravens on three.." The team gathered their hands on top of each other. Lucas reluctantly joined them

"1.. 2 .. 3.. RAVENS!!"

"Look.." Nathan said stepping in front of Lucas. From the corner of his eyes he could see Haley looking nervously. Haley was indeed nervous. _Nathan was talking to Lucas, what the hell? _She thought to herself.

"Besides you.. there's someone else in this gym I hate more.." Nathan said and quickly glancing over to a smirking Damien West.

Lucas couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "For once.. I agree with you." Lucas replied.

"I say we wipe that smirk off his face." Nathan said.

"Deal." Lucas raised his fist, to which Nathan quickly punched it with his own, the two brothers walking back on the court. Lucas shook his head, _who better to befriend than the enemy of your enemy.. and right now Damien posed a bigger problem than Nathan. _Lucas reasoned with himself.

Haley blinked her eyes as she did a double take. Nathan punched Lucas' fist, instead of his face. _What the hell is going?_

The ref blew the whistle and the game resumed. The Bears didn't stand a chance, the teams strategy of bullying Lucas or Nathan proved to be their downfall. Taking Whitey's advice, when someone double teamed Nathan, he simply passed it to Lucas or another free member on their team. Lucas would take the ball to the hole and then quickly passing it to Nathan for a three pointer. It didn't take long for the Ravens to catch up, as the Bears defense slowly crumbled before their eyes. The ball interchanged hands so much, the Bears didn't know what to do with themselves. With less than thirty seconds on the clock, the Ravens were only down two points.

Whitey called another time out and this time praised the team for getting their heads back into the game.

"Look guys.. this is simple.. we need a basket.. any basket will do.. a 3 pointer will win it for us.. but even tying the game up will take us into OT and at the speed we're going at, I'm sure we can get them.. now bring it in . . Ravens on 3 !"

"1.. 2 .. 3.. RAVENS!!"

Lucas turned around to walk back onto the court. Nathan passed him by and turned to him and quickly said. "All this doesn't matter if you can't knock that shot.." Nathan smirked and Lucas nodded.

The Bears had possession of the ball as the time dwindled down. Damien West came storming through the court, but Nathan managed to steal the ball from him, all the players, rushing to the other side. Two Bears defenders stood in between Nathan and the basket, looking from the corner of his eyes, he saw Lucas open. Going up for the basket, Nathan quickly passed it to Lucas. Lucas took a step back to make sure he was beyond the three point line. The ball left his hands and the crowd held in their breath as the buzzer sounded and the ball went through the basket.

"Ravens win! Ravens!!" The crowd went wild.

Haley couldn't believe what just happened. She wanted so much to run over to Nathan but knew she couldn't. She made her way down to the court, as did half the school. Lucas waited there for her with open arms.

"Great game Luke!" Haley smiled and the two hugged.

"Thanks Hales.."

Haley looked up and saw Nathan looking at him from across the court. She smiled at him and winked her eyes. Nathan quickly winked back and turned around to join in on the rest of the celebrations. Brooke Davis smirked to herself as she saw the whole thing.

. . . .

Nathan finally made his way out of the gym and headed straight home. He opened the door to his room and quickly dropped his duffle bag on the ground. He wondered what was taking Haley so long, he figured she was probably with Lucas. He quickly stripped and headed for the bathroom to take a much-needed shower. He stepped inside the tub and let the warm water wash over him.

It didn't take long for another pair of hands to land straight on his stomach. He smiled to himself.

"I missed you tonight." Nathan said as he turned around.

"I missed you too." Haley smiled and the two quickly kissed. She pushed him against the wall of the shower. "God you were so hot tonight!" She let out breathlessly as she attacked his neck. Nathan smirked, enjoying the feeling Haley was giving him.

"How hot was I?" He teased.

"Very.." She said seductively as her mouth left trails of kisses down his neck, through his chest and down his stomach. Nathan leaned his head back and took a deep breath. He licked his lips, enjoying the feel of Haley on him, his hand going through Haley's wet hair as she kneeled down before him.

. . . .

Later that evening, Nathan laid in bed, with Haley comfortably beside him. He was tired, not only from the game, but from the mind blowing sex he and Haley just had. As usual, she rested her head on his chest and had her arms draped around him while his arm was around hair, his fingers gently running through his hair. He felt sleep coming but he was still restless.

For the first time ever, he and Lucas actually worked together, as a team. It was weird but not as weird as he thought it would be. He thought this day would never happen but it did and the world was still spinning. Haley didn't say it in words, but he knew how happy she must've been to see them working together. It pained him to know that she was still torn up about this whole thing with Lucas. He knew that she loved him, that she loved Lucas as a friend. It was only right for him to be jealous, but at the same time he wanted her to be happy, he wanted to see that smile she had on tonight.

He knew he had to finally let this thing with Lucas go for Haley. It didn't mean that they were going to be friends or anything but that they.. or rather Haley needed to tell Lucas the truth. He loved her more than anything and would do anything for her, including the one thing he didn't want to do.

He felt her heart beating steadily and her chest swelling in and out. "I love you." He said barely above a whisper and kissed the top of her head. He closed his eyes, prepared to let sleep take over, but was interrupted.

"I love you too." He heard Haley whisper back. She put her head up and looked straight at him. "The other night .. I could've sworn I heard you say it .. but I thought it was a dream.. but this isn't a dream." Haley said with a big smile.

There was no point in lying. "No.. it isn't." Nathan said softly.

"Say it again.." She pleaded.

Nathan looked deeply in her eyes, he knew this was wrong. He didn't want to tell her.

"…"

"Nathan.." Haley said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I .. I can't.. I don't deserve too." He said honestly. Haley looked at him curiously, wanting an explanation. "I've done things.. things I'm not proud of .."

"I know.."

"No.. you don't.. Haley.." Nathan knew this was the time to come clean, come clean about everything but like her situation with Lucas, he was scared of loosing her, much like she was scared of loosing Lucas.

"No you don't!" Haley countered, her voice growing with anger. "Tell me you don't love me." She challenged.

"…"

"Tell me you don't love me!" She stated once more.

"I .. I can't do that." He said honestly. She cupped his face and any restraint he had was now gone.

"Why not?" She asked simply.

"Because I love you too much.." He said breathlessly. "God I love you!" He brought her in for a kiss. He flipped her over and so now he was on top of her.

"Nathan.. I love you too." Haley smiled up, looking at him.

"I .. I think .. we should tell Lucas.. you should tell Lucas."

Haley giggled.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing .. I think that's the first time I ever heard you say his name correctly."

Nathan smiled but shook his head. "Hales.. I'm serious.."

"The last time you told me to tell Lucas.. it didn't go well at all." She looked away from him, remembering the events of two years ago.

"Well it didn't happen.. now did it." Nathan reminded her. "Look Hales.. I saw how happy you were tonight .. that we weren't actually down each other's throats.. and I love you.. and I want to make you happy…"

"You do make me happy.."

"Not completely.. Hales.. I don't care what Lucas thinks.. and as much fun as it is sneaking around with you.. I want the whole world to know we're together.. to let every guy out there know that you're mine and to let all these bitches at school know that I'm off limits."

Haley smiled. "You're right.. you're right.. I have to tell him.. I'm just scared.."

"I know… but I'm here for you.. no matter what."

"I know.." She nodded. "I'll tell him.." She sighed. "I'll tell him soon."

To Be Continued . . . .


	14. Chapter 14

Winners and Losers

Winners and Losers

Chapter 13

Words can not express how sorry I am for not updating sooner. I went on vacation for almost a week in the west coast and as soon as I got home, I moved to another apartment. Thank you all for your patience and for all your great reviews. Please keep them coming, things are slowing down slightly now, so hopefully I can update sooner rather than later.

This chapter will interchange between flashbacks and "present" time. Enjoy !

. . . . .

Flashback

"I missed you…" Nathan muttered against Haley's lips.

"I missed you too." Haley replied back as their lips locked again. This past week, they both have been busy and haven't seen much of each other. It also didn't help that Lucas occupied much of Haley's free time, much to Nathan's annoyance. Haley was helping Lucas catch up with schoolwork after his own bout with chicken pox. At least for now, Nathan was able to let that go and just be with Haley. He was so thankful that his parents were gone and that they were the only ones in his house.

Their kisses intensified as they both realized just how much they truly missed each other. Out of pure instinct, Nathan laid Haley down on his bed and now he was on top of her. His hand roamed her side, while she tugged at the hem of his shirt.

"God Hales.." Nathan muttered as his excitement grew. He reached for his shirt and immediately took it off, much to Haley's pleasure as she roamed her hands through his back. His lips crashed back to hers and his hands eventually found their way to the buttons of Haley's blouse. One by one, he slowly unbuttoned them. Haley didn't want him to stop, but a voice in her head told her that this was wrong, that they should wait.

"Nathan.." She muttered, trying her best to gently push him off her. But he ignored her and only placed his tongue further down her throat. It was a move that almost left Haley reaching for her blouse and ripping it apart herself. But she managed to stay cool and tried again more forcefully. That still didn't stop Nathan, as he only kept going. When Nathan's hand reached under her shirt onto her bare skin, it scared her and thrilled her at the same time, but with this time, at least, the sensible Haley came through.

"Nathan!" She said more forcefully and literally pushed him off her.

"Jesus Hales!" Nathan exclaimed. "What was that for?" Haley could already hear the disappointment in his voice and Haley's own guilt started to build up.

Nathan sighed, seeing the look on Haley's face. "Look.. I'm sorry if I got carried away.."

"No.. I'm the one who's sorry.."

"Hales.."

"..it's just that.. I've never done.. done _it_ before.." She said hesitantly.

"And?" Nathan smirked.

"And? .. Nathan.. God.. this is a big deal.." Haley said with an annoyance in her voice.

"Well.. of course it's a big deal.." Nathan smirked, his eyes glancing down at his crotch and Haley immediately rolled her eyes. Nathan laughed.

"What's so funny?" Haley demanded.

"This.. look Hales.. the truth is … I've never done _it_ before either.." Nathan admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah.. geez.. what's with the shocked look.. I mean we're only freshmen.." Nathan shrugged it off. ".. besides.. I know all this is new to you… it's new for me too.. and when you're ready.. I will be too." He said.

"Yeah.." She mumbled. She was relieved that he was being patient with her but at the same time, she had to wonder how long his patience would last. She wasn't quite yet ready to admit to him that she wasn't planning on having sex for a long time. Growing up, Haley didn't think of sex as sex but as an act of love and she certainly was determined to wait until marriage, at the very least to be with a guy that she loved. As much as she cared for Nathan and liked him, she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to take that next step so soon. In fact, she felt as if this whole thing with Nathan was going at light speed. It turned out though that Nathan was willing to always move things forward.

"Look Hales.. we don't have to do anything you're not ready for?"

"You sure?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes.." He said with a chuckle. ". . . there is something though, I wanted to talk to you about.." Nathan said in a more serious but upbeat tone.

"Yeah?"

"I like you Haley.. I like you a lot .. and I .. I want to let the whole world know it.."

"Wh.. what're you talking about?" Haley asked, her voice shaky.

"I'm saying that we shouldn't be hiding around and sneaking around anymore.. I want everyone to know what a beautiful.. smart .. _girlfriend_ I have.."

"Nathan… I .. I don't know.."

"Don't know?" He asked a little shocked. "Aren't you tired of sneaking around?"

"Well.. yeah I guess.."

"So.. let's stop hiding.."

"It's not that easy.."

"Why not?" Nathan asked a little annoyed.

"Because.." She muttered trying to find the words.

"Because what?!" Nathan grew heated. "Cuz of _him_.."

". . . ."

"I can't f believe this!" Nathan threw his hands up and got up from his bed.

"Nathan .. please.." Haley pleased.

"Please what?!"

"Nathan.. it's not that easy…"

"Really? It sounds pretty easy to me.. _hi I'm Haley.. this is my boyfriend Nathan_… what's so hard about that?!" Nathan mocked.

"I mean.. it's complicated.. Lucas is my best friend and he's your brother.."

"Don't! Don't call him that"!

Haley shook her head. "Look Nathan.. I just .. I just think that we're not ready yet.. I mean imagine what everyone will say?"

Nathan looked at her curiously now, shocked at her words.

"I mean.. I'm me.. and you're.. you.."

"What is that supposed to mean? .. you don't want people to know about us.. are you.. are you ashamed of me or something?!"

"No! It's not that.."

"Really.. cuz it sure doesn't sound like it.."

"Nathan.."

"I'm telling.. I'm telling everyone!" Nathan looked coldly at her.

"No!" Haley immediately rushed out.

Nathan shook his head, his worst fears realized. He looked at her for a moment longer before turning around and crossing his arms.

"Don't worry.. I won't tell anyone.. apparently there's nothing to tell." He said blankly.

"Nathan.." Haley said softly.

"You should go now." Nathan said, leaving no room for argument. Haley took a step forward, about to say something but decided against it. Nathan was too angry at the moment and so was she, at herself. The two stood there in silence, his back towards her, before Haley finally made her way out.

End Flashback

. . . .

"Well well .. if it isn't Lucas Scott.. the Ravens very own new hotshot." Brooke smirked as she leaned up against the locker adjacent to Lucas'.

"Hey Brooke.. you just got out of detention?" Lucas joked.

"Detention? _Moi_?" Brooke said innocently.

"Yeah.. there's no practice today.. I figured you would've left school a long time ago.."

"Well.. Broody.. for your information.."

"Broody?"

"Yes.. you're new name."

"Huh?"

"Broody.. cuz that's what you always do.. always brooding.. I don't think I've ever seen you smile."

"I smile.." He stated.

"Right.."

"So you didn't answer my question.." Lucas tried changing the topic back to her.

"Like I was saying.. I was actually here for the student council meeting.."

"Student Council?"

"Yeah.."

Lucas laughed. "I never knew you had such humor." Lucas smiled. "See.. I'm smiling."

"Yeah.." Brooke rolled her eyes. "You idiot.. I wasn't joking.. my homeroom rep Liz moved to a new town and I volunteered to take her spot.."

"You volunteer?"

".. or rather I was walking into homeroom late and my homeroom teacher thought it would be funny for me to take over Liz's place."

Lucas smirked. "Makes sense.."

"Anyways.. I came from the meeting.. it's actually kinda fun.. who knew the Student Council had such power.. I'm thinking of running for president next year."

"You? President?"

"Yeah.. why not.. I'll be cheerleading captain and class president.. move over Hilary." Brooke snapped her fingers.

Lucas laughed some more. "Well good luck with that one." Lucas joked.

"You laugh now.. but watch… anyways.. what're you doing here? Waiting for Holly?"

"Haley.." Lucas corrected.

"Same thing." Brooke shrugged.

"I was actually here to get some school work done .. I don't know where _Haley_ is, probably at home or tutoring."

"Oh.."

"Why the interest in Haley?" Lucas questioned.

"Nothing.." Brooke said but something in her eyes made Lucas question that there was something more.

"Brooke.. tell me.. she's my best friend… if you know something .. please…" Lucas pleaded. He hated to admit it but ever since Haley started tutoring Nathan, their relationship has been a little strained. He knew it was his fault. He didn't like the fact that she was spending time with him and felt guilty that she was doing it for him.

"Like you said.. she's probably tutoring .." Brooke took a pause before continuing. ".. probably with Nathan.." She said the last part cautiously, seeing what reaction that would get out of Lucas. It wasn't a secret that the two didn't get along.

Lucas looked at blankly. "Well.. he's one of the dumb asses here that need her help." He said defensively while slamming his locker a little too hard.

"Sore topic huh?" Brooke smirked.

"Gee.. what gave it away.." Lucas said sarcastically.

"Aww Lucas.." Brooke gave him a sympathetic smile and gently grazed her hand against his arm. "It must suck.. your best friend dating your arch nemesis of a half brother.."

"She's just his tutor!" Lucas stated, taking a step back away from Brooke. "Ever since she started tutoring him, people have started vicious lies that they're going out or something.. well I can tell you that nothing is going on."

"Really?" Brooke said a little surprised.

"Yes.. _really_.."

"I don't know Luke.. the way they look at each other when they don't think anyone is watching.."

"What're you talking about?"

"I'm just speculating .. I mean like you said it can be all nothing.. she is his tutor after all.. tutorgirl and Nathan were bound to strike a friendship."

"No.. what're you talking about .. _the way they look at each other_.."

"I'm just saying.. I caught a couple of stolen glances between the two of them.. like the game you guys had with the Bears recently.."

Lucas clenched his jaw. "Like I said.. she's just tutoring him…" He picked up his bag and started to walk away.

Flashback

Haley sighed to herself. It had been almost two very long weeks with out Nathan and she missed him terribly. She tried talking to him a week ago but he avoided her. She knew he was doing it on purpose too, not like she didn't expect it. Their last conversation didn't go too well. She nearly lost her virginity to him, but was relieved that Nathan didn't push the topic. In fact, she was actually touched by the gesture. She heard from older girls like her sisters about the _one thing_ guys had on their mind. But then he also wanted them to come out about their relationship, to stop hiding it. But of course Haley, hesitated, mostly because of Lucas. The last time they actually saw each other didn't help either. The other day, Damien West was once again bugging her by the courtyard outside. She saw the look of hurt and jealousy in Nathan's face when he passed by her table. If only he stayed a minute longer to see her storm off, away from Damien.

Now she saw her opportunity and was glad Nathan was alone. She quickly raced over to him and dragged him into a nearby empty classroom.

"What the hell?" Nathan asked annoyed.

"Nathan.. please can we talk.."

"The last time I checked.. there's nothing to talk about.."

"Nathan.. wait .. please.."

"Wait? For what.. so I can see you with your new boyfriend Damien …"

"Look.. you of all people should know that there's nothing going on with me and Damien."

Nathan ignored the comment. There were one too many times he caught Damien _bragging _and one of the things he talked about was how he was going to make Haley James fall in love with him. He tried his best to hide his jealousy and anger.

"Or maybe it's with your old boyfriend.. Pucas.."

Haley sighed. "It's Lucas.. and he's my friend.."

"Yeah .. well if he's your friend.. then I sure as hell mean shit cuz you put him and the rest of the world in front of me.. you know what forget it .." Nathan threw his hands up in frustration.

"Nathan.. please don't go."

"Are you finally going to tell him about us?"

" .. . ." Haley tried to search for the words but none came out.

"I guess there really is nothing to tell." Nathan said coldly and left.

End Flashback

To Be Continued . . . .

. . . .

Again I am so sorry for the lack of updates in all my stories. This summer is busier than I thought it would be. With everything going on, it makes it hard for me to concentrate to actually get a chapter in. I don't want to do a half ass job and upload it, but I've been mulling over this chapter for a few days now, having the scenes drawn up in my head and this chapter was actually supposed to be a lot longer, but I didn't get a chance to compelete it. I was going to wait but after a lot of my own personal favorites Naley stories here of was updated today, I felt obliged to finally update a story of mine.

This chapter just really gave insight to Nathan and Haley's relationship in the past, sets it up as to why no one knows about their relationship and all the backstory I only hinted at before in earlier chapters.

Like I said, thank you for all the reviews and support. I'm sorry again for making you guys wait. Believe me, I'd rather much be writing than working, but writing (unfortunately) doesn't pay the bills. Again, hope ypu enjoyed, the next chapter should be up fairly quickly since I have it already in my head. Please review !!


	15. Chapter 15

Winners and Losers

Chapter 15

Again sorry for the lack of updates. I only read through this chapter once, I wanted to post it ASAP, so I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes. One of Haley's sibling makes an appearance in this chapter, I was hoping someone can do me a favor and tell me which episode in season 1, where it was either Haley or Lucas mentions all the names of Haley's siblings. I think she said it before. Your reviews mean a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter and keep the reviews coming !!

. . . .

Flashback

"You can't back out on me now." Lucas demanded over the phone.

"Well.. plans change." Haley said dismissively.

"But you promised you'd go.. what happened to your sense of adventure?"

"I'd hardly call a party adventurous."

"Well, considering this is would be our first real party then.."

"Like I said Luke, you can go ahead if you want."

"But Hales.." Lucas whined some more. Haley shook her head, she didn't know why she agreed to go with him to this party. The only reason they were allowed to go is because Taylor is a senior and they would show up with her. At first, the idea sounded good at the time, a way for them to meet more people. It's not like they were out for popularity, but being teased mercilessly by Taylor and the fact that Taylor offered them an invite, Lucas thought it would be a good idea and Haley agreed.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong with you.."

"It's personal." She said half truthfully. It was personal but Lucas didn't know it had all to do with his half-brother Nathan. Ever since their fight and especially after their last conversation, Haley had been upset with the whole situation and mostly at herself. She tried to put it out of her mind but she couldn't. Nathan always crept in and she felt so guilty for hurting him and the last thing she wanted to do was to go out to some party.

"Look you don't want to go to the party.. I understand.. we don't have to go.. what did you want to do tonight?" Lucas asked.

"I told you Luke.. you can go.. have fun.. I just want to stay home."

"Okay Hales.. now you have me worried.. what's going on with you?"

"It's _womanly_ issues.." Haley mumbled. She hated to lie but technically she wasn't lying either, just not giving him the whole truth.

"Womanly issues?" Lucas questioned and then realizing what she meant. "Ohh.. _womanly issues_.. oh ewww.."

"Now you understand why I want to be alone.." Haley stated. "So go .. have fun.. I'll remind Taylor to pick you up."

"Ok .. umm thanks.. you umm.. umm feel better.. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Luke." Haley hung up the phone and sighed a breath of relief. She knew exactly how to get Lucas off her back.

Haley lied back down on her bed, staring aimlessly on her bed, trying her best not to think of Nathan but she knew it was no use.

. . .

Knock Knock

"Haley-bop .. I'm going!" Taylor called out. "You sure you don't want to go."

"I'm fine!" Haley called out.

"There's going to be a lot of hot guys.." Taylor tried to coo Haley into going.

"No thanks.. don't forget to pick up Lucas." Haley called out from her bed.

"Yeah.. I will.. he told me about your umm.. problem.. look Haley-bop there's some Midol in the medicine cabinet."

Haley rolled her eyes once more, she was going to kill Lucas for telling Taylor that, but at least that would get Taylor off her back as well.

"Thanks.." Haley said sarcastically as she heard Taylor make her way out of the house. Once she knew she had the house to herself, Haley made her way out of her room and into the kitchen to get a drink. She tried watching television but it was no use. She ultimately gave up and went back to her dark room, where she never felt more alone. Thoughts of Nathan swirled around her as tear after tear steamed down her face.

"Mom!! Dad !! Taylor!!" A voice called out a short time later, startling Haley from her thoughts. She quickly got up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a moment to compose herself before putting on a face and heading down the stairs.

"Quinn!!" Haley called out in the most excited voice she can muster.

"Haley-bop!" Quinn called out as the two sisters hugged.

"Where's everyone?"

"Well it's Friday night so you know Taylor is .. well Taylor.."

"At a party?" Quinn grinned.

"Yeah…"

Both girls laughed.

"Is mom with dad?"

"Yeah.. that annual dinner thing dad has."

"Oh yeah, mom told me about that."

"I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow." Haley questioned.

"Conference ended early so I decided to just come home."

"Well.. I'm glad you're here." Haley nodded. She was so wrapped up with her thoughts with Nathan that she completely forgot her older sister was coming by to spend the weekend back home. Haley was glad for the distraction.

"I am too.. but I'm wondering why you're stuck here on a Friday night." Quinn asked with concern in her voice.

"Oh.. I was going to go out with Tay but I wasn't in the mood."

"I can see that.." Quinn said as she gently wiped Haley's cheek. "Do you want to tell me why you've been crying.."

"I wasn't crying.." Haley became defensive.

"Haley-bop." Quinn stated, crossing her arms.

"It's just some stuff."

"Stuff huh?"

"It's complicated." Haley said as she sighed to herself. She knew her older sister can read her like a book. Out of all her siblings, she felt closer to Quinn, especially since Quinn was the one who looked after her the most when she was younger. Haley missed her sister and knew she could confide in her. Maybe a little outside perspective is all she needed.

They made their way out to the living room, where Haley filled Quinn in on everything between her and Nathan.

"So you mean to tell me that Lucas has a half brother.." Quinn said and Haley nodded.

"Who just happens to be this guy who you happened to run into now and then.." Haley nodded once more. ".. who also was the first guy you kissed and are now sort of with and Lucas doesn't know .. and the two of them don't like each other.."

"More like hate each other.." Haley mumbled.

"Oh wow Haley-bop.. when you said it was complicated… I didn't think.. I mean.. wow.. " Quinn said shaking her head, flashbacks of her own high school drama started flooding her mind. Quinn gave Haley a supportive smile, she couldn't believe her little sister was growing up.

"So.. now I don't know what to do.." Haley said frustrated.

"Oh Haley-bop.. come here.." Quinn said as she pulled Haley in for a hug.

. . . End Flashback . . .

"Umm.. I don't know.." Nathan said.

"Nathan.." Haley said in a serious tone.

"Ummm.. the answer is C." Nathan responded.

"Now you're just guessing." Haley stated.

"Well didn't they say that if you don't know to just choose C." Nathan tried to joke.

Haley rolled her words. "Maybe that's how it works in Nathanland, but that whole C thing is a myth.. first eliminate what you can.. and then choose C.." Haley smiled and Nathan chuckled.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked. She knew Nathan's mind was somewhere else ever since he came over for tutoring. She was surprised that he wasn't trying to distract her. He came over and they went straight to work.

"Just stuff." Nathan tried to evade the question.

"Stuff?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah.. it's complicated.. " He said trying to avoid her gaze. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his family issues, especially since there was still the topic of Lucas to take care of. He felt guilty, he knew he shouldn't keep things from her, he knew all too well how much trouble that can cause. He looked up at her and offered her a half smile. "Well my mom called.. I have to go away next weekend.."

"Oh.."

"Yeah.. spending the weekend with the parents.. umm not exactly my idea of fun." He said, at least grateful he wasn't lying about that.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad.." Haley said.

"Of course it will be .. I won't be with you.." Nathan said as he gripped his right shoulder with his left hand.

"Is your shoulder still bothering you?"

"Yeah.. Whitey's been killing us at practice.."

"You know.. I think it's time for a break.." Haley said as she put her pen down. She tugged at Nathan's hand and pulled him towards her on the bed. He sat down, while she kneeled up behind him as she started to massage his shoulder.

"Better?" She asked.

"Much." Nathan smiled, enjoying the feel of Haley's hands on his shoulders. "So.." He said.

"So.." Haley responded. She knew where this conversation was heading. It was one she was dodging all week. Haley sighed.

"Look.. I'll tell Lucas soon.."

"Soon?" Nathan questioned.

"Yeah.."

"How soon?" Nathan questioned again. He didn't really want to force the issue on her, but he had to. Not telling Lucas cost them the past two years and there was no way in hell Nathan was going to let anything get in the way between him and Haley. There were already too many secrets between them and at least having Lucas out of the way would make things easier.

"Well.. I can't exactly just go .. _hey Luke.. wanna hang out .. by the way.. I'm doing your half brother that you kinda don't like_.. yeah Nathan.. that'll go over real well." She said sarcastically.

"What? Sounds good to me." Nathan chuckled.

"Look.. I'll tell him.. I promise.." She said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against the back of his. "I just waiting for the right timing .. you know .. maybe after you guys win a game.. and he gets an A on an exam .. you know when he's in a better mood." She joked.

"But Hales.."

"No butts… now … take off your shirt.. so I can finish your massage." She said as she tugged on the fabric.

"You just want to see me shirtless." Nathan turned around and smirked.

Haley shrugged. "Maybe.." She responded as she helped him remove the shirt and she continued her massage.

"You know.. it's not fair.." Nathan said as he leaned back against Haley.

"What?"

"That you're able to change topics like that.."

"Me? Changing topics.." She tried to sound innocent. "If I wanted to distract you.." She whispered into his ear. ".. I would do this.." She said softly as he hands grazed down from his shoulders and down his side, where they rested on his stomach. "Plus it helps that you're hot.." She teased as she shamelessly felt his torso up.

"You really don't play fair.." Nathan stated as he felt her lips on his neck.

"No, I don't." Haley said softly as she shook her head. Nathan turned around and captured her lips with his.

. . . Flashback . . .

"So what happened to you?" Haley teased as she stood by Lucas' locker.

"I don't want to talk about it." Lucas stated. "It's already bad enough that I'm grounded."

"Well.. serves you right." Haley laughed. "I just wish I was there to see it."

"Oh no!" Lucas quickly responded. "Good thing you weren't there."

Haley laughed again. Apparently, both Lucas and Taylor had a little too much to drink at the party and ended up sleeping over. Lucas' mom Karen was furious when he came home the next morning and grounded him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't go to the bookstore with you yesterday.. I was cleaning the gutters all day."

Haley giggled again. She was in much better spirits after spending the weekend with her older sister Quinn. "It's fine.. besides I was able to catch up with Quinn. It sucks she had to leave today."

"_So what should I do Quinn?" Haley asked her older sister._

"_It's simple.. tell Lucas.. So he and Nathan don't along? ..Big deal… is Lucas the one dating Nathan.."_

"_But Quinn.."_

"_No butts Haley-bop.. the longer you lie .. the worst it'll be .."_

"_I know.." She muttered. "I'm.. I'm just scared.."_

"_Well don't be.. I mean you do like Nathan?"_

"_Yes.. I do .. I like him a lot.." Haley looked down and blushed. Quinn could tell that her little sister really liked this Nathan guy._

"_Then there, problem solved.. I mean .. Lucas is your best friend right?" Haley nodded. "I won't lie.. he'll probably be mad and a little upset.. but you guys have been friends all your life.. I'm sure he'll eventually get over it.. and from what you told me about Nathan.. he seems like a good guy.. a little on the badside.. but who doesn't like a little bad boy." Quinn teased and Haley smiled, the first genuine smile she had in a while. "For all you know.. this might help them become closer.. they are brothers after all."_

"_I .. I never thought of it that way.."_

"_Which is why I'm here.." Quinn said cockily. _

_Haley laughed again. "Thanks Quinn." Haley said giving her sister a hug. "I'm going to do it.. I'm going to tell Lucas._

The bell rang and Lucas quickly closed his locker and picked up his back pack. The two started walking to class.

"Hey Luke.." Haley stated.

"What is it?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Umm.." Haley was nervous. This was harder than she thought.

"Look Hales.. my class is here.. I can't be late and get detention.. I'm already grounded remember?"

"Oh yeah.. you know what.. I can .. I can tell you later.."

"You sure?"

"Yeah.. I'll see you later." Haley said quickly and took off. She figured this was a good thing. She hadn't seen Nathan yet and figured she should tell him that she was going to tell Lucas and that they could finally be together without all the sneaking around. Haley saw Nathan around the corner and a smile immediately formed on her face. Her smile soon faded as she noticed his arm draped around a brunette girl next to him. She saw him with his friends and tried her best to hide her shock and sadness as she passed them by. Her eyes locked briefly with Nathan, who looked at her with indifference, as his grip tightened around the girl next to him and he went to talk back to her friends.

Haley went to class but her mind was racing all day. This couldn't be right, it must've been a dream, she thought. There was no way that Nathan, her Nathan would do something like this. Yes, they fought the last time they spoke but he wouldn't move on would he? The questions plagued her all day. Not able to stand it anymore, she raised her hand and quickly asked to go to the bathroom. She quickly left the classroom and walked the empty halls, just her luck she saw Nathan standing lonely by his locker. She walked up to him slowly, wanting to get some answers.

"Hey.." She said softly and she could see him tense up immediately. He turned to her for a second and then went back to the task of finding whatever book he was looking for.

"Can… can I talk to you?" She asked again. Nathan sighed. He knew this was going to happen, he didn't like it but he knew it had to be done.

"Whatever.." He mumbled as he pulled out a book and closed his locker. They walked to a nearby empty classroom, where Nathan just stood there, his arms crossed.

"Yeah." He said in an annoyed voice.

"Look.. umm.. I saw you this morning.. and.."

"_And_ what?"

Haley took a deep breath and tried her best not to cry. "I'm.. I'm just .. confused.."

"What's there to be confused about?"

"Us.. Nathan.."

"Us?" He questioned. "There is no us.. remember.."

"But Nathan.."

"No Haley… look what we had was fun for the moment.. the moment's over Haley.." He stated. "Look.. you should be happy.." He said in a more upbeat voice. "… I mean you don't gotta tell Pucas and you're little secret is safe …"

"So just like that?" Haley asked.

"Just like what?" Nathan shrugged.

"It's over…this thing .. us.."

"Look Haley.. you obviously didn't want us to be a couple.. it's fine.. I'm over it .. and you should be too.."

Haley stood there in shock at his words, a stray tear managed to make it's way down her cheeks. She shook her head, she couldn't believe what was happening.

"You .. you stay away from me." She said, leaving the classroom.

"I was planning too." Nathan stated as Haley darted out of the room and into a nearby ladies room, where she slumped down in an empty toilet seat and cried her heart out.

Nathan stood in the room until he was sure she was gone. He let out his breath and closed his eyes shut, fighting his own tears that were forming. He clenched his fist and punched the wall. He wanted so much to hug her, to kiss her, to tell her that she was the only one that mattered to him, but he couldn't. He didn't deserver her, not after what he did. She was better off without him, she deserved better, he reasoned to himself.

. . . . End Flashback . . .

Lucas decided to take the long way home. He needed the long walk to cool his mind down. Brooke's words continued to plague his mind. He didn't know why he was so upset, he shouldn't be. Haley might be tutoring Nathan but that's all. If something was going on, he would surely know and she would surely tell him. But a little voice in the back of his mind doubted everything. He couldn't deny that Brooke had a point, he caught both of them glancing at each other.

He had to admit that Haley was growing into a beautiful woman, any guy would notice her, even Nathan. With Nathan, it was no secret that girls threw themselves at him and Haley by most standards is conservative but by no means a prude. She wasn't ashamed to call out a _hot guy_ while they were out or watching a movie or television. It wouldn't be so strange if Haley thought Nathan was attractive, Lucas reasoned, but there was no way in hell anything was going on with them.

Flashback

KNOCK KNOCK

"Haley.. you okay?" Lucas asked as he opened the door to her room. "I heard you went home early today from school.. is everything okay?"

"Yeah.." Haley mumbled as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Hales.. you're crying …"

"I wasn't feeling well and then stupid Titanic played on HBO…" She muttered. She hated lying but at this point what's one more.

Lucas laughed. "You're such a girl.."

"Because I am.."

"Seriously Hales.. are you okay? You wanted to tell me something earlier.."

"It was nothing.."

"Haley.. this doesn't seem like nothing.."

"Look.. remember those _womanly _issues I had a couple of days ago.. well it came back.. it was just hard to deal with sometimes.."

"Oh.. I'm sorry.. did you talk to the nurse or your mom??"

"Yeah.. don't worry Luke.. it'll pass.." Haley tried to reassure herself more than Lucas. He moved down to sit next to her on her bed. She cuddled up next to him and rested her head on his shoulders.

"You know you can tell me anything right Hales?"

"I know.. can I tell you something?"

"Anything.."

"Just that, you're my best friend and I love you.. I don't know how I can do this whole thing without you.." She said sincerely.

"Do what?"

"This.. high school.. God.. it used to be so much easier huh?"

"Well the good news is that a few years from now, we'll look back and think this was easy.."

"That's not really good news.." She said with a small laugh. "But thank you Lucas for being here.." She tilted her head up and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then resting her head against his shoulder.

Lucas laughed and shook his head. "I love you too Haley James.." He said back, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

. . . .

All Nathan could do was think about Haley, even more so now that he found out that she left school early. He knew it was because of him and he hated to see her in pain. He knew he should be honest with her and tell her how he really felt about her. Yet, a part of him told him that he didn't deserve her, that she deserved much better than him. In the end, his need for her won the battle and he raced over to her house as soon as school was over.

However, as he neared the corner, he saw that Lucas beat him to it as Lucas entered Haley's house. Making his way slowly to the back of the house, he carefully climbed the tree that was right outside Haley's room. He used this often to sneak in and out of her house when she was sick with the chicken pox, especially when Haley's parents were home. As he climbed higher, he saw into her bedroom and the site before him had his blood boiling. Haley was in bed with Lucas, her head on his shoulder as they talked. Then she leaned in and kissed his cheeks and he responded by kissing the top of her head. What was worse was seeing what Lucas said to Haley. Although Nathan couldn't hear their conversation, he knew that Lucas told Haley that he loved her too.

Nathan climbed back down, a million emotions swirling within him, anger, jealousy, everything was hitting him all at once. He knew what he had to do, he had to stay away from Haley James, she was with Lucas now and even if they aren't together romantically, Lucas was still a better guy than he was. Haley choose the right Scott to be with and for that Nathan resented his half brother even more.

. . . End Flashback . . .

"You really don't play fair.." Nathan stated as he felt her lips on his neck.

"No, I don't." Haley said softly as she shook her head. Nathan turned around and captured her lips with his. The next thing, he knew, Haley was tugging at his belt and Nathan eagerly removed his jeans, leaving only his boxers on.

"God.. I love study breaks.." He moaned between kisses.

".,Yeah.." Haley replied back as he removed her shirt and bra. Then, she gasped when she felt Nathan's hands on her breasts. Wanting to return the favor, Haley let her hand slide down Nathan's chest and stomach and then reaching inside his boxers. Now it was Nathan's turn to gasp.

But it wasn't Nathan's gasp that Haley heard, as she whipped her head around and saw Lucas standing at her doorway in complete shock. Haley quickly removed her hand from Nathan's boxers and Nathan stopped kissing her neck to follow her gaze, all three of them looking at the other in shock. Nathan kept his hands firmly on Haley's chest as they were the only things covering it.

Lucas' eyes blinked widely but it was no use, the site before him was no dream. It made his stomach turn. He didn't know what to say, what to do. He quickly shut the door behind him and made his way out of the house.

"Oh.. God.." Haley sighed in frustration as she frantically picked her shirt off the ground and put it on as she raced outside.

"Lucas! … Lucas.." Haley called out and she reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him from walking away.

"Don't !! Don't touch me!" Lucas said in disgust. Lord only knows where else those hands have been, he thought to himself.

"Lucas look.. I can explain.." Haley said frantically.

"I can't.. I can't believe he did this to you.."

"Lucas.. please.. Nathan didn't do anything.. the truth is.."

"Haley.. the truth.. the truth would be nice.. what the f is going on?!" Lucas said, his mind spinning.

"Look.. you weren't supposed to find out this way.. I was going to tell you.."

"Tell me what?!"

"That Nathan and I .. we're.. we're _together_.."

"_Together_?!"

"Yes.. I know this looks messed up Lucas.. but please just hear me out.."

"He's just using you Hales.. oh my God.. I can't believe you fell for it.."

"Luke! Please just listen to me…"

"He's dead.. I'm going to kill him.." Lucas clenched his fist as he looked back and saw a now fully clothed Nathan stepping from outside Haley's house.

"No! Luke.. listen to me.." Haley blocked his path. "The only thing I fell for… is him.."

"God Hales.. listen to yourself.. he has you brainwashed.."

"Luke.." Haley said frustrated. ".. I .. I love him Luke.. I've always loved him.."

"What?!"

"I've known Nathan since we were little.."

"Wait what?" Lucas looked at her confused.

"We met in the playground when we were like four .. and then one summer our families just happened to vacation near each other.."

"Huh?" Lucas was so confused.

"I know this sounds confusing, but Nathan and I .. we've always known each other.. obviously we weren't really friends growing up.. we just saw each other at random times .. I only found out that you two were brothers only after you did .. I swear .."

"Natey.." Lucas mumbled. "That summer you went to the beach and said you hung met a friend .. Natey.." Haley nodded. "..that was him !!" Lucas growled.

"Yes.." Haley muttered.

"You've been sleeping with him?" Lucas asked in a heated but low voice.

Haley fought back her tears as she nodded her head. "Yes.."

"How long?"

"Lucas.."

"I said HOW LONG!?"

"Since basketball season started.."

Lucas eyes shot open. "You've been lying to me this whole time!!"

"Yes.." Haley said as tears streamed down her face.

"You knew what he did to me .. you of all people know!! .. I don't .. I don't even know who you are …"

"Lucas please..it's me.." Haley pleaded.

"No.. no you're not.. you're just another one of his sluts.." Lucas motioned to Nathan who was walking up behind her. Nathan grew heated, he hated to see anyone, especially Lucas yell at Haley and make her upset.

"Say whatever the hell you want about me.. but don't you dare call Haley that." Nathan said defiantly as he stood in front of Haley.

"I call it as I see it .. Tree Hill's manwhore and latest slut.. you guys were made for each other.."

"Look I warned you!!" Nathan clenched his fist, but Haley held him back.

"Nathan.. please no.." Now she stepped in front of Nathan.

"Lucas.. just please.. hear me out.." Haley pleaded.

"I don't need to hear any more of your lies.." Lucas shook his head as he walked away. Haley was going to off after him but Nathan stopped her.

"Hales.. let him cool down.." Nathan said, holding Haley back.

"It's just.." Haley said, her voice shaky.

"I know.. I know.." Nathan said as he pulled Haley in close to him as she cried against his chest. He held her tightly and with his other hand, ran his hands through her hair and then giving her a kiss on the top of her head. He continued to hold onto her as she sobbed openly.

Before Lucas turned the corner, he glanced back and saw Nathan holding Haley affectionately. The way Nathan looked at Haley and the way he seemed so protective of her, Lucas had to wonder if what they had was really real. Lucas shook his head and continued to walk away, to where, he didn't know. The rug was pulled out from under him and his whole world had shifted. He walked aimlessly trying to make sense of things, trying to figure out when everything went wrong, where it went very wrong.

To Be Continued . . ..

Again I'm sorry for the long delay. This chapter was supposed to be uploaded last night, but I made it nice and long for you all. The cat is out of the bag sort of speak and talk about drama up ahead. There's still stuff from the past that has yet to be revealed but don't worry, we'll get there. I hope these flashbacks help explain the back story of Nathan and Haley's past. Everything is coming in full circle but there's still a lot more to come. Lucas was a bit harsh but can you really blame him. He's confused, hurt, shocked and he had to find out with them in the most compromising position. Haley didn't even get to tell him that this wasn't the first time that Nathan and Haley were together, you can imagine his reaction, hehe. So I hope you enjoyed, I'm really glad I crossed this threshold, the other half of the story can start now that Lucas knows. Again sorry for the delay and keep up the wonderful reviews !!


	16. Chapter 16

Winners and Losers

Chapter 16

Thank you so much for your reviews, except for one particular reviewer who didn't even bother to either sign on or leave a name. I could've had Haley tell Lucas but then where's the fun in that?! When I first wrote chapter 1, I always wanted Lucas to catch Nathan and Haley in the most compromising position, hehe. So sorry if you think the story is so predictable, maybe you wouldn't want to read the end since you know how the story will end. But to all the reviewers, thanks !! I know you've been waiting for Lucas to find out so I hope it was worth the wait. Some have speculated what's going to happen or what has happened but I won't confirm or deny anything but I'll just say that I still have some tricks up my sleeve.

Anyways…just for a re-cap, Nathan and Haley had always known each other since they were little kids. Haley only found out about Nathan's relation with Lucas only after Lucas did. Nathan and Haley carried on a relationship during their freshmen year in high school (as seen in the flashbacks), but as seen in the last few chapters, it didn't end well. Fast forward to junior year and the start of chapter 1. The bulk of the backstory has already been laid out, they'll only be a few more flashbacks into the past, most of the story will concentrate on the "present." I know many of you thought that Lucas was a bit harsh and that was the point. It was always my idea that Lucas will be very harsh/cold on Haley. I've never really seen Lucas too mad on the show and my best source of inspiration was to go to his Scott roots, so you saw a little bit of Nathan/Dan in Lucas last chapter. As portrayed on the show, Lucas and Nathan are more alike than one would think, which you'll see eventually.

Again I'm sorry for the delay in all my stories, like I said I've been sooooo busy. The good news is that the next week and a half shouldn't be that busy, but we'll see. I'll try to update as much as I can. I'm sure that when OTH season 6 returns in a few short weeks, it'll inspire me to write faster.

I'm sorry for not updating Thicker than Blood and The Mourning after, but I've just been so caught up with this story, I've been dying to reach this point and I'm so glad that it's here. I'll try to get to those stories out soon, hopefully update both this weekend or next week. My other story Damaged I and II, will be shelved for the moment, I've decided that one weekend, probably in September, I will write the whole story out. I've decided to scale things back with that story, so it won't be as long as I had planned.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review !!

. . . .

"You have to play better than that if you want to remain a starter." Nathan crossed his arm as he stood at the sidelines of the river court.

Lucas picked up the basketball from the ground and gripped the ball tightly in his hand, trying his best to ignore Nathan. He'd spent the better part of the last 24 hours trying to forget about him and Haley.

"Missed you at practice.." Nathan added after another moment of awkward silence. Lucas went in for the lay up and picked up the ball once again.

"Yeah.. I'm sure you _missed_ me .." Lucas said sarcastically. "You can cut it out with the f small talk.. what the hell are you doing here?" Lucas gripped the ball against his palm and turned to face Nathan.

"Haley." Nathan simply stated.

"Well.. I'll tell you what I told her .. I don't want to hear about it .. I've had enough of you .. the both of you.." Lucas mumbled, as he went over to the tables to gather his stuff. His mind was still coming to grips with what had happened. He hadn't slept well and his appetite gone. Haley tried to talk to him privately this morning but he blew her off. He knew he was harsh with her but he didn't care. Like mom said, "if you don't have nothing nice to say.. don't say it at all." He didn't want to go through another round with Haley, he had heard enough of her lies. Lucas was about to make his way out but Nathan stood in front of him. Lucas clenched his fist and tried his best not to deck Nathan right there and then.

Nathan knew this wasn't going to be easy. After Lucas found out about them yesterday, he held onto Haley as she wept openly. It was a similar story earlier today when she tried to talk to him again, only to be turned away. Nathan was a little worried, she hadn't slept and ate much but he was relieved when she fell asleep in his arms earlier. He took the opportunity to go out and talk to Lucas. He never planned on talking to Lucas but he couldn't bear to see Haley in such pain, even thought he couldn't help but be happy that he finally had her all to himself. He loved her too much to be selfish. He was going to stop being selfish, for her sakes more than his, but that didn't mean he still couldn't have a little fun.

"You're pathetic you know that .." Nathan stated and he clearly saw the rise that he got from Lucas, but was surprised to see Lucas go from angry to almost emotionless. Lucas kept himself in check, Nathan and now Haley had taken too much from him, he wouldn't let them take anymore.

"With the company I've been keeping .. I can see why." Lucas simply stated and he too was surprised that his insult of Haley had an effect on Nathan. He had to really wonder if Nathan's feelings for Haley were really genuine. The thought of it was making him nauseous.

The flash of anger was only their for a second before Nathan gave his trademark smirk. "To think I was actually jealous of you.." Nathan said shaking his head.

Lucas looked at Nathan curiously, he was sure full of surprises today.

"I had everything .. well almost everything .. you see, you had the one thing I wanted most in this world .. Haley.. and now.." Nathan paused as his smile grew wider. "And now, she's all mine.. _again_."

"Again?" Lucas inadvertently found himself saying, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"You don't think this is the first time Haley and I have been _together_?"

Lucas shook his head. "Whatever.. I'm tired of your lies.. I know what you're doing .. it's not going to work.. I can't believe you would use her to get to me.."

Nathan couldn't help but laugh. "And they say, I'm the conceited one.. look Pucas.. the world doesn't revolve around you .. having you pissed off about me and Haley was just a happy bonus."

"Whatever.." Lucas mumbled as he tried to walk away.

"For the record.. I love Haley.." Nathan said proudly. "I've always loved her.."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Who do you think was her first kiss?" Nathan paused for a second. "Her first of _many_ _things_.." He smirked. "Look.. this thing with Haley and I.. it's not new .. it didn't work out for us two years ago.. but we're giving it a go now.. and nothing and no one, especially you, is going to get in the way of that." Nathan said firmly.

"2 years?" Lucas mumbled, his mind in utter confusion.

"If you would've listened to her this morning, she would've told you that two years ago .. Haley and I were actually together.."

"Together?"

"_Together_.. Einstein.." Nathan scoffed.

"No.. that's impossible.."

"Haley had chicken pox.. I conveniently had an injury.. who do you think kept her company while she was sick.. or when you were sick.. you don't remember all those times she was suddenly busy or unavailable.." The look of realization flashed on Lucas' face and Nathan knew that Lucas believed him.

"Like I said.. it didn't work out too well for us back then .. I have you to thank for that .. you're so called _friendship_ meant so much to her .. she was going to tell you back then but obviously she didn't .. she was going to tell you about us now.. but hehe.. you beat her to it." Nathan stated. "Look.. I'm sorry you had to find out this way.."

"You're not sorry.." Lucas gritted his teeth.

"You're right.. I'm not sorry.. I have Haley.. I'll never be sorry about that.. for some strange reason, she still considers you to be her best friend.."

"Well that makes only one of us.." Lucas gritted. "I still don't know why you're here besides to flaunt the fact that you and Haley have been playing me for a fool?"

"I came here to tell you .. to lay off of her .. she doesn't need to be hurt anymore."

"If anyone's going to hurt her, I'd say to look at the mirror.."

Nathan tried to brush off the comment. "I'm just saying that if she was your so called friend, then you'd cut her some slack .. or at least hear her out .. she's done more for you than you know.."

"What.. what is that supposed to mean.."

"You're on the team, aren't you?" Nathan turned around and started to walk away.

"Oh .. by the way.. today at school was a courtesy.. tomorrow.. I'm not hiding anymore.. Haley and I aren't hiding anymore.." Nathan stated as he walked over to his car and drove off, leaving a bewildered and even more confused Lucas.

. . . .

"I can't believe you did that.." Haley sighed. She didn't know if she should be angry or relieved. Nathan had just told her everything that happened with Lucas. "Oh my God.. I can only imagine his reaction.." Haley said shaking her head.

"Well.. he was a little calmer this time.." Nathan shrugged. "He wasn't yelling .. he looked more confused than anything.."

"Oh my God, Nathan.. I was supposed to tell him.."

"Well, he wasn't going to listen to you.. so I had to make him listen. Look Hales.. I'm sorry if you're upset but I had to do it .. I can't bear to see you hurting.. all because of him.."

"_He _is my best friend.."

"Was your best friend." Nathan corrected. "I'm your best friend."

Haley chuckled and shook her head. "Thank you for doing that but I should've told him."

"Would it have made a difference? He would've called you names again.. and no one.. I mean no one gets to call you that, not on my watch."

She couldn't be mad at Nathan for talking to Lucas. She knew Lucas was still pretty upset, probably more so with her than with Nathan at this point. She knew that she would break down again if Lucas started yelling at her again. The fact that Nathan talked to Lucas just for her showed her how much Nathan loved her. "I just wish.. I just want to talk to him.."

KNOCK KNOCK

"If that's him.. then that's freaky.." Nathan chuckled. Haley playfully slapped his shoulder and walked down the hallway to the front door.

"Oh my God.. it is him.." Haley said in a low voice and Nathan stepped back, wanting to give the two of them some privacy. Haley took a deep breath before she opened the door.

"Hey.." She said softly.

"Hey.." Lucas mumbled.

"Do .. do you want to come inside?"

"No.. it's okay.. I know you have company.." Lucas look back at Nathan's car. Lucas took a step back from the steps and Haley followed him outside.

"So Nathan came to see me.."

"Yes .. I know .. I'm sorry.. I should've told you.."

"So it's true.." He said softly. "What happened two years ago? You were really with him…"

"Yes.." She said softly. Lucas' face emotionless. "I was going to tell you back then.. that Nathan and I kinda started going out.. I really was but then things didn't work out between us and I just wanted to forget about him. . forget it ever happened .."

"But what happened? Why now?"

"Because.. I couldn't forget.. I couldn't bury my feelings for him.. I know he hurt you Luke.. believe me .. I gave him hell for it but you can't help who you love.. and I love him Lucas.."

"He's going to hurt you.." Lucas blurted out quickly.

"Lucas.."

"No Haley!" Lucas said more forcefully. "He'll hurt you .. you can count on that.."

Haley took another deep breath. She knew when Lucas' mind was set on something and she didn't want to add anymore fuel to the fire.

"I'm sorry.. that's.. that's all I can say… I'm sorry for lying to you.. I'm sorry for hurting you.."

"You have a lot to be sorry for .. but not as sorry as I am .. I can't believe you would do this to me .. of all the people in world Haley.. it had to be him.."

" . . . "

"He's going to hurt you.." Lucas said with conviction. Lucas didn't know Nathan, but he knew enough about him to know that Nathan Scott meant bad news. "For your sakes I hope you find out sooner than later .." Lucas turned around to walk away.

"Luke .. wait !" Haley called out for him.

"Be careful.." Lucas stated. "Cuz I won't be there to help you out .." Lucas continued to walk away.

. . . .

Haley stepped back inside and slowly closed the door behind her.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked, stepping out of the shadows.

"Not really.." Haley said as she went up towards him and buried her face against his chest. Nathan quickly pulled her into a tight embrace.

"He hates me.." Haley mumbled.

"He doesn't hate you.."

"Yes… he does.."

"That's impossible .. no one can hate you .. especially with that cute face of yours.." Nathan tried to joke as he playfully pinched her nose. Haley gave a slight chuckle.

"I lost him.." She said defeated.

"Hey.. you don't know that.. he's just angry and upset now .. he'll come around when he realizes what a big loser he is .. especially without you.."

"Nathan.." She scolded.

"Hey.. I'm trying okay.." He smiled at her. Haley just shook her head and leaned back into him.

"Do you.. do you regret this.. regret us?" Nathan asked softly. It had been in the back of his mind but now he couldn't stop thinking about it.

"No.." She said softly. "I never wanted to hurt Lucas .. and his friendship means the world to me.. but I .. I love you.. I've always loved you.. I could never regret that.." She said looking up at him. Nathan smile grew wider, as he felt relief wash over him.

"No matter what happens.. know that I've always and always will love you Haley James.." Nathan stated as he leaned down and kissed her lips.

. . . .

The next morning, Haley sat in the front seat of Nathan's car as they pulled up to the school parking lot. Nathan was about to open the door but Haley stopped him.

"Wait!" She called out, reaching for his arm.

"Is everything okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah.. it's just .. after this .. I mean .. Lucas knows.. and now the rest of the world once we step out of this car…what are people going to say?" Haley asked.

"They can say whatever the hell they want .. I'm here Haley.. and I'm tired of hiding .."

"I know.. me too.. I'm just .. nervous.." She said. Nathan gave her a reassuring smile as he stepped out of the car and went to the other side to open the door for Haley.

"Don't worry .. I got you .. and I'm never letting you go.." Nathan said as he stretched out his hand and Haley took it. With Nathan by her side, Haley felt a sense of calmness wash over her and a braveness in her she never knew existed. She knew it would be hard, the stares, the whispers and the gossip, but it wouldn't matter, none of it would. She had Nathan and that's all she needed.

The two walked hand in hand towards the school, along the way people stopped and stared, but they continued to walk, ignoring the glances and the whispers. Lucas was on the quad outside reading, when he saw Nathan and Haley from the corner of his eye. Everyone's eyes fell on them and just as quickly, they looked at Lucas. Lucas sighed as he put his book back in his backpack. _And so the madness begins. _

To Be Continued . . .

Sorry if it was a little short. I hope you enjoyed.. please review !!


	17. Chapter 17

Winners and Losers

Winners and Losers

Chapter 17

Thank you guys for all the reviews, I was blown away with all the responses. I haven't had that many replied since the first chapter, so I am so glad you all decided to stick along for the ride, I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner. My mind right now is in this "world" right now so it might be a little longer before I update either Thicker than Blood and The Mourning After. I'm sure with summer winding down in a few weeks and OTH back on in a few more weeks, that it'll get the creative juices going. I wanted to put this out there before I had to go to bed for work tomorrow so I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Anyways, enjoy and please review !!

. . . .

"What does she have that I don't?" One girl pouted.

"Blond hair?" Her friend responded.

"Should I dye it?"

"You're hilarious.. I think you'll need to do more than that.."

"Like what?"

"Like get a 4.0 GPA."

"What I can't do that?! .. It's not fair .. how come she gets to have both _Scotts_."

Lucas rolled his eyes at the annoying bitches sitting behind him. So much for quiet time at the library, didn't they know that he was sitting right there?

"I know … she's so lucky.." The other girl responded.

That was it. Lucas stood up and walked towards the opposite side of the library.

"Oh my God.. was that Lucas this whole time?" Both girls giggled as they watched him walk off.

Lucas sighed to himself. This was his life now. First he was known as the bastard son of Dan Scott, who abandoned him and his mother even before he was born and estranged half brother to one Nathan Scott. He couldn't believe he missed those days. Now, he was Lucas Scott, Raven, which put him back in the spotlight and once again rehashing painful emotions of his paternity. Now he could add, "dumped" to the resume.

After Nathan and Haley made their debut at school, it didn't take long for the rumor mill to churn. The past two days have been hell, a silent hell. Nathan and Haley were all the talk of the school. Rumors ran rampant and of course Lucas was in the middle of it. It was bad enough he had some classes with Haley. He made sure to sit in the front of the class, closest to the door, so that he wouldn't have to look at her and more importantly make his quick escape.

Basketball was another story. The guys all talked about him, Lucas knew it. He didn't hear it but the glances they gave him and to each other was all Lucas needed to know. At least Nathan was playing nice. Whitey even put them on the same team yesterday and they managed to get through it fine. Neither said a word to each other, letting basketball do all the talking.

Whitey wasn't blind or deaf, he had heard about Nathan and Haley. He was afraid that something would happen between Lucas and Nathan again on the court, but he silently thanking his stars that nothing has happened, yet. He noticed the tension between them, it was always there, but at least they were both being civil. For now, Whitey would take what he could get in the hopes that with time, they could gel more as a team because bonding as brothers was something Whitey could only dream about.

_Finally some quiet. _Lucas thought to himself as he planted himself down at the other end of the library. He let his mind go and welcomed the diversion of school work in front of him. He had his pick of science, math, literature. For the first time in his life, he was thankful for the heavy load of school work. It didn't take long for him to get caught up in his work, not realizing the pair of two new guests taking a seat behind him.

"Well can you blame her?" Another girl asked behind Lucas. "I mean talk about an upgrade."

"Tell me about it." Her friend said in a dreamy voice. "Don't get more wrong .. Lucas is hot.. but Nathan.. oh man.. that Holly girl is so lucky."

"I can't believe she dumped Lucas for his brother."

"Well I heard that Nathan wears size 14."

"And?"

"And Lucas wears _13 and a half_."

"Huh… _ohh.. ohhhhhh_…" The other girl responded in realization and both started to giggle.

"Enough!!" Lucas pounded his fist on the table and turned around to see two sophomore girls behind him. "Are your lives really that pathetic !?" Lucas raised his voice and a couple of other people turned around to see what the fuss was about. The two girls looked up at Lucas, a mixture of both shock and fear.

"Easy there.." Brooke joked as she swooped in and tugged at his arm. "Come on, Broody.. I think it's time to go."

"Huh?" Lucas asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Looking for you.. and apparently I came the right time.. let's go." Brooke ordered.

Lucas' facial expression softened and he went to pick up his bag but not before sending another death glare at the two girls that were sitting near him.

"You okay?" Brooke asked as they made their way out of the library.

"I'm fine.." Lucas muttered.

"Whatever you say.. _Nathan_.." Brooke joked.

"What?!"

"I've never really seen you mad before.. you kind of reminded me of your best friend there.." Brooke nodded and Lucas followed her gaze down the hall where he saw Nathan.

"Whatever.. I'm nothing like him.."

"I see you're not the biggest fan of Naley." Brooke said as they walked down the hallway.

"What's a Naley?"

"Nathan plus Haley.. Naley.. much better than Hathan.."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Whatever.. they'll be over before you know it."

"And why is that?"

"Because .. if there's one thing I know about Nathan.. it's that he isn't a one girl kind of guy.. you of all people should know.. when he was with Peyton …" Lucas talked to Brooke about his wild reputation and the way he uses girls. ".. She's just going to be another notch on his belt." Lucas stated firmly.

"Right.." Brooke said as she linked her arm with Lucas. "Come on Broody.." Brooke said, trying to change the topic.

"What're you doing?" Lucas raised his eyebrow.

"Making our mark?"

"Mark.. what mark?"

"Yes.. our mark.. we can't have Nathan and Haley beat us as the hottest couple at school… Today Naley.. tomorrow.. Brucas.."

"Only you.." Lucas couldn't help but laugh, the first time he actually had a genuine smile in days. He was thankful for Brooke, she was just the distraction he needed.

. . . .

"Hey you.." Nathan turned to see Haley walking up to him, a big smile flashing across his face.

"Hey.." Haley replied back as Nathan opened his arms up to her and they shared a tender hug. He gave her a quick kiss on the top of her forehead before pulling back. He and Haley were taking things slow, at least in public. Nathan knew that Haley was having a hard time with all the attention thrown their way. Haley wasn't used to being center of attention and he had to admit that the rumor mills about them and Lucas was starting to annoy him as well. He could only imagine how hard this was on Haley.

"Oh.. was that Lucas?" Haley asked as she looked down the hallway and saw Brooke dragging Lucas away.

"Yeah.. see I told you .. you had nothing to worry about .. Lucas is fine .. and apparently he's with Brooke David.. she'd make any guy feel _fine_.." Nathan smirked and Haley quickly glared at him and slapped his shoulder.

"Except me of course .. you know you're the only one that makes me feel _fine_.. you make me feel a lot of things.." Nathan said huskily into Haley's ears, causing her to turn a slight shade of red. It amazed him how she could seem so sheepish one minute and then turn the opposite a minute later. But then again, she was like that only with him, and _only for him_. He loved how shy and innocent she seemed in public but behind closed doors, she was a sex goddess and he had no problem worshiping every single inch of her.

"He still isn't talking to me." She said softly.

Nathan sighed. "Yeah.. that makes both of us."

Haley looked up at him curiously before shaking her head and giving a laugh.

"What?" He tried to sound innocent.

"Whatever Scott.. just walk me to class.." Haley stated.

Nathan laughed back. "My pleasure Miss James.." Nathan said as he put his arm around her and walked down the hall.

. . . .

"See I told you.. this is totally working.." Brooke said as they walked down the hall, with all eyes staring at them. ".. now instead of Haleybeing the one that dumped you for Nathan.. now people can say that you dumped Haley for me…."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "I know I'm a genius, you can thank me later." Brooke winked at him.

"Brooke.." Lucas sighed. ".. how many times do I have to tell you … Haley and I are .. look we _were_ just friends.." Lucas stated.

"_Right_.." Brooke said as if you weren't convinced.

"I'm serious.. we never dated.. nothing of the sort."

"were friends" Brooke said using air quotes. "I don't buy it.."

"Brooke.."

"Hey.." Peyton said, interrupting Lucas and Brooke's conversation.

"Hey Peyton.." Lucas turned to her.

"So word on the street is that you dumped Haley for Brooke." Peyton said.

"See I told you.." Brooke said pointing to Lucas.

"You're unbelievable.. I have to go to class." Lucas said excusing himself from the two of them. Once out of site, the two girls looked at each other and laughed.

"I was hoping you got my text." Brooke stated.

"And miss that reaction from Lucas.." Peyton laughed. "I see you planted yourself right with Lucas." Peyton commented as the two walked.

"I'm just trying to help the poor boy out.."

"Uh hu.."

"What?" Brooke tried to sound innocent.

"Next thing you know, you'll be naked in the backseat of my car."

"Wait.. who told you I was going to do that?!" Brooke turned to her friend.

. . . .

Haley closed her locker and turned around. She flinched at the sight of Brooke standing in front of her with her cheerleading uniform.

"Haley.." Brooke smiled.

"Hi Brooke.." Haley said nervously. "Ummm.. I don't mean to sound rude.. but .. but what're you doing here?"

"I just want to chat."

"Okay.." Haley said curiously.

"I mean here you are dating the co-captain of the basketball team and here I am, co-captain of the cheerleading team.."

"And this relates to me .. how?" Haley asked confused.

"Okay.. I'm just going to go straight to the point .. prom queen."

"Huh?"

"Prom queen.. I want you to drop off the race.. it's already hard competing with the rest of these bitches here at school.. I don't need you stealing my thunder.."

"I'm not stealing anyone's thunder and what're you talking about, prom queen.. I'm not running for prom queen.."

"Well according to the student council meeting I just left, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Well you may not know it, but you've already been nominated."

"What? No.. this is some sort of joke."

"Oh believe me, I wish it were .."

"B.. but.. I don't understand. ."

"Your dating Nathan… _Nathan Scott_ .. what do you think would happen?"

"Not this.." Haley paused. "Wait.. you want me to drop out? … Are you … are you threatened by me?" Haley asked, not expected the level of enthusiasm in her voice. She had to admit that it was pretty cool being nominated for prom queen, even though she didn't want the title.

"Hardly .." Brooke scoffed. "Like my mother . . . I am a woman of business.. and I think we both have something to gain."

"And what would that be?"

"Lucas." Brooke stated.

"Lucas?" Haley looked at her curiously.

"It's simple.. you want Lucas back in your life.. I want Lucas in my life.."

"Umm.. okay.. you don't need me .. I seen you in the hallway together .."

"Yes but all we ever discuss is you and your new boytoy… or he just stares off into lord knows where .. basically.. he's a mess and you're the cause.."

"Look Brooke, you don't know the whole story .. I'd love for me and Luke to be friends again but it's not that simple .."

"Leave that to me.." Brooke smirked. "Pretty soon you'll be buddy-buddy with Lucas.. and I'll be _buddy-buddy _with Lucas, but with a crown on top of my head." Brooke smirked as she started to walk away.

Haley shook her head and picked up her book bag, _this day couldn't get any weirder_.

Brooke continued to walk down the hall and turned at the corner, where Peyton was waiting for her.

"Were.. were you just talking to Haley?" Peyton asked.

"Yep.."

"Why?"

"I told her to drop out of the race for prom queen and I'd help her out with Lucas."

"I can't believe you're so worried about being prom queen."

Brooke laughed. "Like I care about prom queen."

Peyton gave her a inquisitive look.

"Okay.. I do care but I can win that contest with my eyes clothes and no make up on."

"I don't get it .. what're you up to Davis?" Peyton raised her eyebrow.

"Phase I has just started .." Brooke smirked at her friend, as she continued to tell her the details of her plan.

Peyton shook her head. "This sounds like trouble."

"Believe me, I have everything under control . . . by next school year, you'll be seeing the new class president, reigning prom queen and cheer captain… and at the same time set some lives straight." Brooke smirked to herself, for Brooke was an ambitious young lady, one with her own conscience to settle.

To Be Continued . . . .

Sorry for the short chapter but I didn't want to accelerate too fast in the story. Basically right now, it's just the reaction to everything. This story has basically revolved around Nathan, Haley and Lucas, and I mentioned a few chapters back how I wanted to try to bring in more of the other characters. You're probably wondering what the hell is Brooke up to but it'll get answered eventually. I'll try to work on the next chapter as soon as I can, the first scene is already written in my head. Right now though I'm going to concentrate on writing the next chapter of Thicker than Blood, I feel so bad for letting so much time go in between chapters. Again, thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming !!


	18. Chapter 18

Winners and Losers

Winners and Losers

Chapter 18

Thank you all for the reviews. I'm sure all of you are scratching your head over Brooke, you'll get a little more insight as well as slightly more Naley in this chapter.

So I'm so sorry about not updating my other stores. My cousins came to visit me this past weekend so there went all my free time. It didn't help that I just got the box set of Heroes season 2 and OTH season 5. I can't wait for the 6th season! The sequel to "Make it Stop" will probably be posted sometime around the premiere, so look out for it. With all this OTH goodness, it should give more motivation to keep writing and now that summer is almost over as well. I promise that I'm going to start writing the next chapter of Thicker than Blood as soon as this chapter is posted.

Thanks again and please review !!

. . . .

"That is weird.." Nathan said he and Haley lay on his bed. Haley had just finished telling him about her encounter with Brooke earlier.

"I don't know.. what is she up to?"

Nathan shrugged.

Haley sighed to herself. "God.. what a mess.." She rested her head against his chest and stayed there for a moment before getting up.

"Okay mister.. you stink.." Haley crossed her arms.

"Well.. I was going to shower at school after practice.. but I was waiting for you." Nathan said playfully.

"For me?" Haley raised her eyebrow.

"To join me in the shower of course.." Nathan smirked as he got up and took her hand.

"Nathan.. wait.. I have to work at the café tonight.." Haley silently cursed to herself. Now she had to deal with Karen. It was something she wasn't ready for but knew it was inevitable. This would be her first time back at work since announcing to the world that she was Nathan Scott's girlfriend. She wasn't sure how Karen would react or that she even knew. Who was she kidding? It's Karen, of course she would know. At the very least, she would sense something was wrong since she hadn't been around the café or her house to see Lucas.

"What time does your shift starts?" Nathan asked.

"In half an hour.."

"Plenty of time.. I'll be quick.. only one round" He purred in her ears.

"Only one?" Haley said, not believing him.

"Yeah.. I'll save the rest for tonight at your place."

Haley knew the next few hours would be torturous, but at least for the next couple of minutes she could enjoy herself. Haley quickly pulled his arm towards the bathroom. "Come on.. I have 29 minutes left."

. . . .

Haley rushed inside the café. _Daym Nathan_, she cursed to herself. She was already ten minutes late and hoped Karen wouldn't say anything.

"I didn't know it rained today." Karen stated, taking it Haley's appearance, with her hair still wet.

"I completely forgot what time it was when I took a shower.. I rushed straight here." Haley smiled nervously. Haley sighed a breath of relief, maybe Karen didn't know.

"It's okay, Haley, you could've just called and said you were going to be a couple of minutes late… there's a couple of towels in the back if you want to dry your hair."

"Thanks, Karen.." Haley smiled at her and went to the back. Haley picked up a towel and went to the bathroom to continue drying her hair. She sighed to herself, so far so good. A couple of minutes later, she emerged from the back in the hopes that tonight would be busy and that there wouldn't be much down time for her and Karen to chat.

Her hopes were dashed when she stepped back to the front to see that it was probably going to be a slow night. That wouldn't stop Haley, though, if it wasn't a busy night then she'd make herself busy. Pulling her hair back into a bun, she took out her pad and took the orders for the few customers they had. Next, she busied herself with cleaning all the tables and then doing the dishes in the back. After about half an hour, Haley busied herself by re-filling the salt and pepper shakers.

"Aren't we the busy bee tonight?" Karen commented.

"Huh?" Haley tried to act cool. "Oh.. I just feel bad for coming in late.."

"It's fine Haley.. it's not like it's a mad house here tonight." Karen gestured to the small group of customers she had. "Anyways.. how have you been.. I haven't seen in you in a couple of days."

Immediately, Haley winced and hoped that Karen hadn't noticed.

"Oh.. I've just been busy.."

"With school?"

"Yeah.. school and stuff." Haley offered a smile, hoping it would derail Karen's questions.

"And this _stuff _wouldn't happen to be your new boyfriend."

Haley immediately froze, unsure of what to say. She had hoped that Karen didn't know but then again half of Tree Hill High comes here for food.

"Huh?" Haley asked. It was obvious she was trying to dodge the question, but she needed to buy her sometime to compose herself.

"Haley.." Karen said in a more serious tone.

"Yes, Karen.. I'm with someone." She said calmly and softly. "I know it was dumb of me to try to avoid it, I mean of course you would know.. I'm .. I'm sorry." She mumbled. It felt as if she was saying that a lot these days.

"Nathan Scott.." Karen mumbled and shaking her head. "I didn't see that one coming."

"You and I both." Haley quickly responded.

"You and Nathan.." Karen said in almost disbelief.

"Karen.. look I know what you must be thinking…"

"That my sweet little innocent Haley is running around town with Dan Jr." Karen said shaking her head. "Look Haley, I care for you a lot and I'm worried about you getting mixed up with a guy like him.. now I know why Lucas has been so distant.."

She could already feel the tears stinging her eyes. Of course this affected more than just her and Lucas. It affected Karen as well. Over the years, Haley thought of her as a second mother. To do this to her was almost as bad as her betrayal to Lucas.

"Look Haley.. I know well enough not to judge a book by it's cover.. but Nathan, Haley? .. I knew you were tutoring him .. I don't know how you could be with him after everything he's done to Lucas." Karen said defending her son. She didn't meant for it to come out so harsh but she was a mother first.

"I know.. I know.. you don't understand ..." Haley looked up, her eyes glistening.

Karen took her hand and placed it on top of Haley's. "Then make me understand."

Haley sighed as she leaned in on the counter. "Gosh.. I .. I don't know where to start.."

"The beginning would be a start.." Karen tried to lighten up the mood, clearly seeing how this was upsetting Haley. But Karen cared for Haley deeply and she wanted to get to the bottom of this. Karen knew all too well the dangers of being with Scott men.

Haley offered her a small smile. "It's a long story.."

"Well.. we're going to be here for a few hours." Karen smiled back at her.

"Okay.." Haley took a deep breath. "I guess it started when I was four.."

"Four?!" Karen's eyes widened.

"I told you it was going to be a long story.."

"No kidding.."

"Like I was saying.. I first met Nathan when I was four .. no .. five .. wait no.." Haley babbled on about how she first met Nathan as a young child and through out the years, they managed to randomly run into each other and hang out. She talked about her shock when she found out that he turned out to be none other than Lucas' half brother. She proceeded to tell her about how they "secretly" dated during her freshmen year and how the two barely had any contact after that. Haley was relieved to see Karen taking everything in a calm and cool manner. Haley supposed that Lucas didn't inherent that trait. He was a Scott after all.

"And then what changed?" Karen asked.

"Basketball .. Lucas.." Haley sighed. "I thought I could forget about him, to get over him but when Lucas joined the team, it was like Nathan was being shoved back into my life .. and the truth was that after all this time, I still wanted him… I knew what everyone says about him and they're true but that's only half the story .. Nathan really opens up to me.. we connect .. I don't know how else to say it .. I love him.." Haley said the last part softly. Haley made sure to leave some of the colorful details out like the deal she made with Nathan to let Lucas win that night on the River court. That was definitively something she could omit.

"Ahh.. young love.." Karen sighed. "I know it all too well."

"Are you mad at me?" Haley asked softly.

"No.. I'm not mad at you.. shocked.. surprised.. yes… but no.. I can't be mad at you for following your heart.. even if it leads you to Nathan Scott… if you couldn't tell.. my opinion for the Scott's is a little biased. Like I said, I know all too well about _young love_.. and look what happened to me."

"Karen.."

"Look Haley, I'm not saying what happened to me will happen to you.. but when I was your age, I thought the world of Dan.. and it the end he hurt me in the worst possible way.. I just don't want the same thing to happen to you .. and I don't mean that just because your dating Nathan .. it goes with any guy."

Haley offered her a small smile. "Nathan's not as bad as everyone makes him out to be …"

"For all the years I've known you.. I know you've always been a good judge of character.. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt but that doesn't mean I'll stop worrying about you." Karen smiled back at her.

"Thanks Karen."

"And I take it my son is not too happy about this."

"Not at all.." Haley said, trying to put it mildly. "I don't blame him for being mad at me.. I deserve it.. I never meant to lie to him or to hurt him .. at this point, I don't know what to do .. he's just so mad and hurt."

"Look Haley, I'm not going to lie to you.. with everything you told me and with everything that happened with Lucas.. I'm not surprised he's acting this way, but at the same time, this is all new to him and he's still probably trying to take everything in.. give him some time, I'm sure he'll come around."

"Yeah.. maybe.."

"And Nathan.. how are things with him and Lucas?"

"Ok as can be I guess.. I mean they're not killing each other on the court anymore.. I already warned Nathan already to lay off and I think he's putting aside his feelings for Lucas because of me .. I know it's not much but it's something.." Haley scratched her head in frustration. Life would just be easier if the two of them actually got along. "I really do think that if they got to know each other then they can actually get along.. maybe even become friends.." Haley gave a sarcastic laugh. ".. but I know it's not going to happen… like I said, as long as they're not trying to kill each other right?"

Karen gave Haley a smile and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Karen could already sense that all of this was taking it's toll on the young girl. Although Karen wasn't sure what to make of Nathan, she could tell that her feelings for Nathan were real and she could only pray that it went both ways.

The jingling of the door bells distracted Haley and Karen as they both turned around to see who walked in. They were both surprised to see Nathan standing there. He walked up towards the counter and offered a polite hello to Karen. Karen replied with a curt hello and gave Haley a curious look.

"I'll see if table two needs a refill on their coffee." Karen said as she walked away.

Nathan took a seat at the stool.

"Nathan, what're you doing here?"

"I came to see you.."

"You couldn't wait until after my shift is over." Haley crossed her arms.

"No." Nathan replied quickly.

Haley smiled and shook her head. She was glad to see Nathan, she was glad every time she saw him.

"Look.. I know how worried you were earlier about coming in to work. .. I just wanted to make sure everything is okay."

"Thank you.." Haley said, putting her hands on top of Nathan's. "But everything was fine .. I talked to Karen."

"And?"

"Well.. she's not your biggest fan but .. she trusts me.."

Nathan winced slightly. He wasn't surprised, of course Karen wouldn't trust him. With everything he did to Lucas, he wasn't expecting it but it still hurt him to know that Karen probably thought that he didn't deserve Haley. There were times where he felt it himself and he didn't need anyone else in the world to feel the same way, especially someone who is close to Haley.

Nathan nodded his head and gave Haley a smile. "So.. what's good here?" Nathan said trying to change the topic.

"Nathan.. you just ate.."

"So.. how about a snack.."

"Well.. we got some pastries .. muffins.. danishes.."

"A muffin sounds good and root beer if you have."

Haley smiled at him and turned around to get him his order. Karen looked on for a distance and studied the two. She saw a sparkle in Haley's eyes that she never saw before. As for Nathan, she noticed how he looked on at Haley as she got him his order. His gaze was intense and he looked at her like she was the only one in the room. If she didn't know any better, she would guess that he's probably as crazy for her as she was of him. Karen sighed to herself, lord only knows how this'll play out.

A couple of minutes passed. Nathan sat on the stool and enjoyed his snack as Karen was tending to the other customers. Haley was cleaning up the counter and Nathan couldn't help but think how cute and sexy Haley was in her little apron. Thoughts of her just wearing the apron popped up in his mind and he couldn't wait for Haley's shift to end so he could have her way with him.

. . . .

Lucas opened the door to his mother's café and was shocked to see the person sitting at the stool. He stood there for a moment as Haley, Nathan and Karen turned around to see him. Nathan quickly turned around and focus his attention back to Haley. Lucas tried to keep his cool, especially since his mom was there.

"I guess you'll serve just about anyone.." Lucas stated to his mom for the whole café to hear as he made his way back. Haley looked down on the counter as Lucas walked by her and headed for the back.

"I'll talk to him." Karen quickly offered as she took off her apron and followed Lucas to the back.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked looking at Haley.

"Yeah.. I'm fine…"

"What the hell are they doing here?" Haley heard Lucas say to his mom from the back. Karen closed the door to her small office before they could hear anymore.

"Look.. maybe.. I .. I should go.." Nathan said.

Haley silently nodded.

"I'll.. I'll see you later.. okay?"

"Yeah.." Haley nodded her head. Nathan gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before heading out.

. . . .

"What the hell are they doing here?" Lucas asked his mother.

"Lucas.. Haley works here and Nathan is a customer.."

"Customer my ass.."

"Luke.." Karen said in a serious tone. Lucas knew well enough not to use profane language.

"I'm sorry… but .. but you know what he did to me.."

"Yes.. I know.. and I talked to Haley.. she told me everything.."

Lucas shook his head. "Whatever.."

"Look Luke.. you and Haley have been friends for as long as I can remember and I know this must be hard on you .. and I know you have every right to be upset and mad at her but please.. just hear her out.. she really misses you and she feels horrible."

"Well.. she should feel horrible.."

"Lucas.."

"Mom.. no.. how am I suddenly the bad guy? I did nothing wrong .. I didn't deserve to be lied to.. and for who.. Nathan Scott.. the guy lives to see me miserable.."

Karen shook her head, she knew all too well how stubborn her son can be.

"I'm just saying .. you should talk to her.."

"I'm not ready to talk to her.." Lucas said softly. "I'm not sure if I'll ever be.."

Karen nodded, knowing how much this was also hurting Lucas.

"Look mom.. I'll .. I'll see you home.." Lucas said walking out.

Lucas opened the door and made his way back to the front of the café.

"Lucas…" Haley called out after him.

"Well it's nice to know you took out the trash .." Lucas stated. "Don't forget the ones in the back." Lucas quickly added before leaving.

. . . .

Nathan walked out of the café and stepped inside his car. His phone rang and he picked it up.

"Finally.. I was calling you earlier.." Nathan stated.

"Sorry.. it was on vibrate.. what's up?"

"What the are you up to?"

"What?" Brooke said innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about, Brooke.. prom queen, what the hell?." Nathan stated.

"Look.. you're the one that came to me remember.." Brooke replied.

"Yeah.. but I never said anything about prom queen.."

"You're the one the came up with the idea.. I had to come up with the plan.." Brooke stated.

"Whatever.. I'd rather not know .. I already hate lying to Haley."

"I still don't understand what you're doing?"

"Hey.. you keep your end of the deal, I'll keep mine."

"You must really love her, huh? I mean you finally got her away from you _arch nemesis_ and now you want them to be friends again.."

"Of course I love her.. I'd do anything for her.. and stop being so dramatic .. he's her friend and I want her to be happy."

"I never thought I'd see the day Nathan Scott is whipped by a girl."

"If the girl's name is Haley James then I have no problem." Nathan stated.

Brooke laughed. _He really is whipped_. "Don't worry Nathan.. I have it under control .. I'm doing my part.. how are you doing?"

"I already contacted Millicent .. I'll keep you informed."

"Fair enough… I gotta go Nathan.. bye."

"Bye." Nathan said as he put his phone back in his pocket. He would do anything for Haley, that was true, but little did Brooke know, that he was doing this more for Lucas' sake than Haley's. Nathan sighed to himself and placed his head briefly on his steering wheel. He saw Lucas storming out of the café, looking pissed as usual._ He's going to need Haley._

To Be Continued . . . .

So I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Like I said before, there are still some surprises up my sleeve. I'll try to update as soon as I can but I'm going to try and get the next chapter of Thicker than Blood out. Thanks again for the reviews, please keep them coming!


	19. Chapter 19

Winners and Losers

Chapter 19

Sorry guys for the long wait, if you read my other stories, you'd know that I've been very busy and dealing with a lot of things. Now that I finished Thicker than Blood, I can devote more time to this story. I have the epilogue for it written up and I'll post it sometime soon. Enjoy this next chapter, I'm slowly getting my flow back in this story and hopefully I can speed things along. Also, I apologize for any grammar/spelling mistakes, I could only proofread so much and I really wanted to update already.

I have a few things to say about last night's episode. I'm glad Leyton is having some drama and that it's Peyton's fault and Lucas has to man up. I sort of wish Sam goes on tour with Mia. She's no Q and I don't think I can stand her staying on the show on a more regular basis. Brooke helping out foster children is good, but please don't turn her into Angelina Jolie. I want to know what Brooke will do next and I hope something happens between her and Julian, I'm so over Owen, bring back the doctor guy from season 5.

One of the things was that I thought it was totally uncool for Nathan to come in with the wheel chair (how insensitive was that) but other than that I loved it. I also thought why Nathan couldn't be there at the concert, I mean it's not like he was playing or lifting, he could've just been there in the back. But whatever, I would've like it though that when Haley got up to sing that they did a quick flashback to season 1 where Haley first sang to Nathan, but it's okay. I know Nathan must've struggled with quitting Slamball but I don't blame him at all and I believe that it was the best decision he could make for himself and his family. He's married with a son, his life is no longer his, but I'm glad that he'll still fight for his dream of basketball but still keeping his family's interest first. I'm so incredibly proud of how far Nathan has come along and I'm so glad Haley is getting to live her dream as well. I loved the little strip tease, although I think we should've seen a little more of the "encore of the encore." I think Mark has made a good effort in trying to show them as a couple instead of an old married couple but I think they need to push the envelope a little more. I mean, we seen racier things when they were in high school, now they are all in their early 20's where that sort of behavior is sort of warranted and expected? Am I not right? They killed Q, had a crazy nanny, but where's the sexiness? Where's that passion we saw in season 1 or season 3, I mean both Haley and Nathan look incredible, why shouldn't they be all over each other. Their both great looking people, let's ramp up the sex factor .. the ratings are already good.. imagine how much better they can be, hehe.

Lastly, how great was the Nathan/Haley/Lucas scene. Haley was hilarious and it was so true about the line about the drama not being there's anymore. It's good to see them interact with out Jamie, even though I love the kid. There needs to be more Scott family scenes like that, esp more Lucas and Nathan interaction and Lucas/Naley interaction. I wish that scene could've gone on longer, the three of them were playing off each other so well.

Enjoy and please review!!!

. . . .

Nathan smirked at the gorgeous site of his nude girlfriend sprawled out in front of him, her hands grasping his headboard, her body squirming in anticipation for him to fully penetrate her.

"Please.." She begged as Nathan placed himself at her entrance, gently grazing her velvety folds. He had her just where he wanted. He knew he was being a little mean, teasing her like this, but he knew she loved every minute just like he did. He didn't know how he was going to spend the next few days with out her but since this was his last night with her before he left, he was going to savor every minute, every touch, every kiss.

Nathan could only smirk. "Please Nathan.." She begged again. "I need you .. I need you so much.." She said desperately as she writhed her body against his, trying to push herself on to him but Nathan only pulled back.

"Tell me.. I'm your's.." He demanded as he leaned his body forward, his face a few inches from hers, his firm erection continuing it's deadly tease.

"I'm your's.." She said with out hesitation. "I'm your's!" She said louder and with one quick thrust, he tore his whole length right through her. She gasped, more pleasure than pain. She screamed his name and Nathan never heard a more beautiful sound. This time, his own need for her was too great for him to hold back anymore. His hands joined hers as they gripped the headboard and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he violently drove himself in and out of her. He stifled her moans with his lips as their tongues battled with each other.

It didn't take long for her to succumb as he felt her walls tighten around him and it took everything in him not to go with her. It just wasn't time yet. She screamed into his mouth as she rode the waves of pleasure riding through her. He slowed down his pace as she settled down from her high. Once her breathing stabilized, he quickened his pace again, this time more furious than before.

If he was going to go, he was damn well going to take her with him. She needed to know what she would be missing out on the next few days. She moaned again as Nathan was bringing her back high. He kissed her again, willing himself not to go over the edge. He tried to take his mind elsewhere but it was hard when he was thrusting himself deeply in and out of his sexy girlfriend. He held back for several minutes but couldn't hold back anymore as beads of sweat poured from his forehead. With a muffled cry, he started to shoot within her, his liquid shooting within her. She felt him go and that was enough to send her over the edge again with him. Her walls tightened once more, milking him dry as he emptied himself within her.

He collapsed on top of her, his body twitching slightly as the last drops of his seed emptied itself within her. She held tightly on to him, her hands firm on his sweaty back. His body swallowed her whole but she didn't mind his weight on her. She loved the feel of being so close to Nathan. They laid there like that for a moment, while both of them tried to catch their breaths.

Nathan slid off of her and lied on his back and pulled her into him. He gently kiss the top of her head and the two of them snuggled up next to each other. He loved making love to his girlfriend but he also loved what happened afterward when they would just lie there together.

"How was your day?" He asked softly as he stroked the side of her arm.

"Now you want to talk?" She teased.

"Well.. when you came over.. you weren't in the mood to talk either." He shot back. "In fact.. I believe it was you who literally pulled my shorts down.."

She gently slapped him before he could say more. She didn't need to be reminded that when she came over, she practically threw herself at him. She had a long, rough day and what she craved the most was for Nathan to rough her up. She shook her head, she couldn't believe how deeply she loved Nathan and how much her body and heart needed him, craved for him. She really didn't know how she could spend the next few days without him.

"It was okay.." She muttered a moment later.

He heard the hesitation in her voice and knew why. He heard what happened at school earlier. "I heard about your English assignment.."

"Yeah.. it wasn't a big deal.." She tried to dismiss it.

"Hales.."

. . . . . Earlier that day . . .

"So for today's assignment, it's going to be a little bit different." Mr. Matthew's, Haley's English teacher announced to the class.

"Mark.." Mr. Matthews asked the student sitting in front of Haley. "What's Christine's last name?"

Mark looked over at Christine, he'd seen her around school and only shared this class with her.

"Umm.. I don't know.. I never really paid attention." Mark replied honestly as he looked at Christine who sat right next to him.

"Honest answer.. but okay.. tell me one thing you know about Christine?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"Umm.. she takes English with you.." Mark replied and the class laughed.

Mr. Matthews also chuckled. "Fair enough.. so Mark .. am I correct to assume that you pretty much know nothing about Christine."

Mark simply nodded. "How about Haley.. what's her last name?"

"James.." Mark replied.

"Good.. anything else you know about her."

"Yeah.. she works at the tutor center." Mark replied. Haley sat uncomfortably in her chair. She didn't like all this attention, especially since she's received a lot of it ever since her and Nathan came out, sort of speak.

"Miss Davis.." Mr. Matthews asked. "Tell us something personal about Miss James here.."

"Well.." The bubbly brunette sat up. "I know tutorgirl here has a cute little waist, which by the way that poncho you wore last week did absolutely nothing for you.." Brooke smirked and Haley shot her a glare, while the class giggled, all except one particular student.

"Mr. Scott.." Mr. Matthews said and Haley's heart stopped as she turned to look over at Lucas.

"Tell me something personal about Miss James.." Mr. Matthews asked.

Lucas turned to Haley from across the room and then looked back at his teacher. "I don't know her." He said simply. This elicited a couple of looks from the other students, who knew that her and Lucas used to be close, but Mr. Matthews wasn't so keen on the latest drama his students were going through as he kept talking. Haley, however, did her best to mask the pain she felt at his statement. But she wouldn't get mad at him for the truth was that he did know her but he really didn't know her at least not in the way Nathan does.

"The point is .. many of us here don't know each other.. we spend all day together and what do we really know about the other person.. so today .. we're going to find out. I've put all your names in this hat here.." Mr. Matthews picked the hat up from his desk. "Half of the class will pull out a name … that'll be your partner for this assignment… the goal of this assignment is to find something out about that person and describe it .. but not in words but in a picture… you'll take a picture of each other.. develop it.. print it ..whatever and on the back of the picture, describe in words what is it you found out about this person.. we will show the class the pictures we shall see if the picture conveys what you found out." Mr. Matthews said as he placed the hat down and the students started to pick out their partners.

"Psss.." Brooke said to Haley.

"What?"

"Here.. give me yours.." Brooke said as she extended her hand. Haley looked at her curiously. "I got Lucas.." She whispered softly. "Here's your chance to talk to him."

"Brooke .. what're you doing?" Haley whispered over to her.

"Trying to help you guys out like I promised.. now are you going to take it or not?"

Brooke had a point, this would give her and Lucas a valid reason to see each other. Haley reluctantly took her paper in her hand and the two switched partners before their teacher could see them.

"Now .. this assignment is due Monday.. so you have until then to meet up and do it.. in the meantime folks.. let's take out our books and turn to Chapter 5.." Mr. Matthews said as he went back to his desk.

. . . .

"Luke.." Haley called out as she left class.

"What?" He asked, somewhat annoyed.

"We're.. we're partners.. when.. when do you want to do this?" She asked hesitantly. He looked upset that they were partners, not that she was surprised.

"Look.. let's not do this… I have a Polaroid.. I'll take a picture of you at the tutorcenter.. you can take one of me reading a book.. there assignment done.. easy A for both of us." Lucas said as he kept walking away, before Haley could say anymore.

. . . . . End Flash back . . .

"It's just a stupid assignment.. it's not big deal." Haley tried to play it off.

"It seems like a big deal to me.." Nathan replied.

"To you.. not to me.."

"Hales.. I think this assignment would be a good way for you and him to reconnect with each other.. I mean isn't the assignment supposed to be about finding out something about the other person."

"Okay this whole sweet understanding boyfriend thing is freaking me out."

"Freaking you out?"

"Yes.. this is Lucas .. I mean .. I'm glad that you've finally accepted our friendship as being just that.. but why do you want me to see him.. I'd figure you'd be over the moon that he was out of my life." She looked at him curiously.

"Do you love me?"

"Nathan.."

"Hales.. do you love me?"

"Yes… you know I do.."

"That's all I need to know.. look Hales.. these past few weeks with you have been amazing.. more than the first time we were together.. well mostly because of the hot sex.." Nathan smirked and Haley rolled her eyes. "I know I'm an ass Haley.. but being around you .. I don't know… I don't want to be an ass anymore.."

"Really?" Haley questioned.

"Well.. not most of the time.." Nathan smirked again. "The point is that Lucas was a big part of your life .. he still is apparently… and down the road I don't want you to look back on us and think that I took him away from you.. even though I sort of did but you get what I mean .. just because me and him don't get along doesn't mean that you and him shouldn't.."

"Well aren't you Mr. Mature and Understanding.." She teased.

"Well.. it's a new look I'm trying out for the semester.." He teased back.

"Well.. I like the look.. in fact.. it's kind of hot.." She wiggled her eyes.

"Really?" Nathan shifted his body so now he was back on top of her. "How hot am I now?"

"Practically on fire .." She smiled back as she moved her head forward to kiss him. "I'm going to miss you.." She said breathlessly after their lips parted.

"Me too.."

"This'll be the longest time we've spent apart since.. since we started seeing each other again." Haley said.

"Don't worry.." Nathan said as he pushed back a piece of stray hair from her forehead. "I'll be back soon.."

"What's up with this family thing anyways? Why couldn't it wait for the weekend?"

"I don't know.." Nathan lied as he shrugged his shoulders. "You know how my parents are.. the less I try to understand them.. the better my life will be… now where we?" Nathan asked seductively as she felt him harden against her.

. . . .

The next morning, Nathan and Haley stood outside Nathan's car which parked at the school's parking lot.

"Drive safely.." Haley said as she hugged Nathan tightly.

"I will.. I'll call you when I get in.." He said kissing the top of her forehead. "Hey.. what's wrong?" Nathan asked as he heard her sniffle.

"Nothing.. it's stupid.."

"It's not stupid to me.." Nathan stated.

"I'm just being a silly girl."

"You forget that you're my silly girl.. so would you please tell me what's going on.. you're getting me worried."

"I'm just.. I'm just going to miss you that's all.. I mean I'm going to be here at school and at work with all these people looking at me.. judging me .. and you're not going to be here.. it's just.. it's just going to be hard."

"Hey.. look at me.." Nathan said as he took a step back to look at her. "You're a much stronger person than you give yourself credit for Haley James .. you were fine with out me for all these years Hales.. a few days will be nothing."

"No.. I wasn't fine .. I was just able to mask it well.."

Nathan gave a warm smile, he couldn't believe how much he loved this girl. "I know.. just know that I love you and I'll miss you .. and look just get through school and work the next few days and get plenty of rest."

"Rest?"

"Yeah.. cuz when I come back .. I'm going to be keeping you up all night long." He grinned and Haley blushed. She gave a small laugh. "Okay.. time for you to go.."

"What?! You think I'm joking .. I'm deadly serious.." He said softy into her ears. Just the thought of it had Haley weak in the knees. They shared one last tender kiss before Nathan got into his car. Haley waved off as he drove away. She turned around once he was out of site and started to walk into school. She could get through this, she thought to herself. She looked down the hall and saw Lucas by his locker. Nathan was right, this assignment wouldn't be so bad after all. She would find a way to get through to Lucas, that if they somehow talked, they can get through all their issues and in the process rediscover each other. She needed help and she looked at Brooke who stood next to Lucas and knew exactly who she needed to turn to.

. . . . .

Nathan shifted uncomfortably as he waited in the elevator. The doors finally opened and he stepped out and took a deep breath. He walked down the corridor and into the waiting room, where his mom was waiting for him.

"Nathan.. honey.. you're here.." Deb said as she came up to her son and gave her a hug.

"Hi mom." Nathan said softly.

"How was the drive?" She asked.

"Not bad.. ran into a little construction.. I would've been here a half over ago."

"Well.. it's okay.. the nurses are with him now changing him."

"How.. how is he?"

"Stable…" She said as she sat back down and Nathan right down next to her.

A minute later a nurse came walking in. "Mrs. Scott.. you can go in now." The nurse said.

"Thank you.." Deb replied as she stood up and Nathan followed her out of the waiting room.

They walked down the hall and Deb stopped in front of a door. "Nathan.. he's very sick.. you.. you need to prepare yourself.."

Nathan simply nodded as he took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his palms on his jeans. Nathan reached out and turned the door knob and slowly entered the room. Even he couldn't prepare himself for the site before him, as his father laid there motionless, with a bunch of wires and tubes wrapped around him.

To Be Continued . . .

I hope you enjoyed.. please review!! And don't forget to check out my other story, Thicker than Blood.


	20. Chapter 20

Winners and Losers

Chapter 21

Thank you guys for all the reviews and again I am so sorry about the delay. The truth is that I had another death in the family and I just couldn't get myself into writing, although I did do a fair amount of reading. So I hope you can understand why it has just taken me so long to update any of my stories. The good news is that I decided to beef up this chapter and that from here on out is the home stretch for this story. This chapter is very important as you will see and many questions will be answered in this chapter.

After much consideration, I have decided to make a Thicker than Blood sequel. Right now I'm formulating the story in my head but I will get to that story after I finish this and the Mourning After. I am hopeful that with Thanksgiving break around the corner, I can get a good heads up in finishing up this story.

I also loved Naley in last week's episode. I didn't really care about the other storylines but Naley was just perfect and the fact that it was just their own storyline was great cuz I wasn't feeling the Leyton at all. I think I might have to write a fic based off that episode alone.

Anyways, here's the next chapter.. a lot of important stuff is here so pay attention. I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes, I only got to read through this once. PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!!

. . . . .

Nathan stood there at the foot of his dad's bed. There were so many emotions going through his mind that he couldn't think straight. Part of him was sad, his father lying there unconscious due to a heart attack. He was always such a strong, commanding figure and seeing him look so defeated was weird for Nathan. At the same time, a part of him felt happy that Dan was lying there. Not only was Dan a strong and commanding figure growing up, he was also demanding and brutal. It wasn't a secret that Dan forced his dreams on him and tried to live vicariously through Nathan. No matter how well Nathan performed, it would never be good enough. He was always a letdown no matter what happened and for that Nathan was glad to see his dad suffer. Then another part of him was disgusted with himself for reveling in his dad's predicament, but leave it to Dan Scott to fall and take others along with him.

_Flashback_

_"What the hell is this?!" Dan demanded, holding Nathan's progress report in his hands and a glass of brandy on the other. Nathan just entered the house when his dad barked at him to come to his office. _

_"You're about to fail math and get suspended from the team and all you can do is just stand there!" Dan yelled as he slammed his drink down on his desk. _

_"I'm sorry Dad.. but with practice and school and all the extra practices we do.."_

_"Nathan, I want results not excuses…" Dan said shaking his head. "Fortunately, I'm here to clean up your messes.. your teacher just bought a car from me.. looks like I'll be throwing in the extra warranty and free maintenance.. I bet Lucas would never have this problem.." Dan said with a grin as he looked back down at the papers before him. "Remember that I can't keep cleaning up your messes for you.." Dan said cockily and Nathan turned around fuming. He hated his life, hated his dad, hated Lucas, for Lucas had everything Nathan ever wanted. _

_. . . ._

Turning around, Nathan couldn't take another second being in that room. He quickly left and stood outside the doorway. Once outside, he took a huge breath, as if he just came up from the water.

"Nathan.. honey.. are you okay?" Deb asked concerned. Nathan had to roll his eyes. Now it seems his mom decides to act concerned instead of always traveling and working, leaving him at the hands of his father. He'd like to think that he'd reach a point in his life where he didn't need her anymore or him for that matter. He tried to keep his cool though, she was after all still his mother and for all her faults, she did the best she could, even if it meant spending a lot of time away from him.

"Just peachy mom.." Nathan shook his head. "I can't believe you waited to tell me.."

"We didn't want to worry you.. you had so many things going on.." Deb tried to reason. Nathan was so angry at his parents for keeping this from him. Dan went off to Savannah for a business trip to meet Deb, who was already there for her job. They were having dinner one night, when Dan clutched his chest and collapsed.

_Flashback_

_"You suffered a mild heart attack, Mr. Scott." Dr. Richards said to Dan who was sitting up on the hospital bed with Deb by his side. "You were lucky to be brought here so quickly."_

_"Is.. is he going to be okay?" Deb asked._

_"We have to run more tests and see what triggered the heart attack, but we'd like to keep him here obviously for observations.. but there's no need to panic right now, we'll cross that bridge once we get the test results and get more information."_

_"Thank you doctor." Both of them said and Dr. Richards nodded back and left the room._

_Deb nodded and clutched her husbands hand. "I.. I have to tell Nathan.." Deb said softly. In all the madness, she completely forgot to call her son. Now that Dan was awake and stable, she could at least offer him some good news._

_"No.." Dan said. "Like the doc said.. it's just a mild heart attack.."_

_"Mild.. still means heart attack, Dan."_

_"Deb.. let's not worry him .. like the doctor said, we'll just wait for the test results to come back.. for all you know.. I just need to take it easy and lay off the red meat from now on.. Nate has a couple of grueling games ahead."_

_"Dan.. this is no time for basketball.. this is your life here.."_

_"Yes.. my life .. and I'm looking out for our son's… important people will be watching Nathan.. he needs to be on his game.. not worried about me .. I'm looking out for his future too." _

_Deb sighed, she was tired and miserable. She didn't have the strength right now to argue with Dan and he did have a point. There was no need to worry Nathan out until they got more information. Later on that night, Deb didn't tell Nathan what happened, stating that they were going to stay in Savannah a little longer. She agreed to not tell Nathan about Dan's heart attack until they get more information._

_However, a few days later, Dan suffered another, more severe heart attack and Deb was left with no choice but to tell her son. _

. . . .

"Was.. was the doctor right?" Nathan asked a moment later.

"He can answer that for you.." Deb nodded towards the doctor walking towards them. "Dr. Richards, this is my son, Nathan."

"Nathan.. nice to meet you." Dr. Richards said, extending his hand and Nathan shook it.

"Did you find out? Does he have HCM?" Nathan asked impatiently. When Deb finally told him of his dad's condition. She had mentioned that the doctors were leaning on HCM as being the cause of his heart attack.

"Yes.." The doctor said plainly. He hated delivering bad news but after many years of doing it, he had begun to be a pro at it. "I'm sorry Nathan, your father has HCM and unfortunately, it's genetic… which means.. you have a 50% chance of having HCM as well." Dr. Richards responded as Nathan's worst fears came true.

He felt as though someone had punched in the gut. When his mom told him what really happened, he was stunned and surprised. She told him that the doctors thought that Dan might have HCM and that they were going to know in a few days. She apologized to Nathan for keeping him out of the dark but they didn't have any reason to believe that Dan wasn't going to be okay, that was until his second heart attack. Nathan did some research on HCM and knew that if he had it, his life would change forever too. Nathan waited before going to see his parents, he knew that with HCM, he could kiss basketball goodbye and so he waited, enjoying quite possibly the last time he might enjoy the game.

"We have your grandfather's records faxed over to us.. Royal Scott.. it appears that he is clean.. were you able to get a hold of Dan's brother?"

"No.. not yet.. we're not really sure where he is.. Keith and his family had a little bit of a falling out and they haven't been in touch much." Deb stated. Dr. Richards nodded and then turned to Nathan.

"I'm sorry Nathan.. but we have to test you too." Dr. Richards stated.

"I know.." Nathan said softly. ".. Lucas as well.." Nathan said just above a whisper that no one seemed to notice. He turned around and left his mom to talk to the doctor. He needed to get out of there. Once again, he felt like all the air around him had vanished. He was relieved his grandfather didn't have HCM but him, his Uncle Keith and Lucas were all at risk. Just then, he heard his cell phone go off and a smile was brought to his face.

"Hey Hales.." Nathan flipped his phone open.

"Hey.. Nathan.. did you make it okay?" Haley asked and just the sound of her voice calmed him.

"Yeah.. um.. I'm here now.."

"Are you okay? You don't sound so good.." Haley prodded.

"Yeah.. I'm fine.. you know how my parents are.." Nathan gave a chuckle, hoping to lighten up the situation. He didn't want Haley to worry about him. How could he tell the girl he loved that he might have a possible life-threatening disease.

"Aww.. I'm sorry.. I wish I was there with you.. I'm such a dork.. you're only gone for a few hours and I already miss you like crazy.."

"I miss you too.." Nathan said sincerely. "Hales.. I love you okay.."

"I know.. I love you too.. listen I got to get back to work.. I just wanted to say hi.. I'll .. I'll call you later."

"Can't wait.. bye Hales.."

"Bye, Nate." Haley put her phone back in her pocket. Haley already felt betting just hearing Nathan's voice. She put on her apron and turned around.

"God Brooke.. you scared me." Haley said as she clutched her chest.

"What's good here?" Brooke asked while perusing through the menu and ignoring Haley's comments.

"Pie's good.." Haley replied.

"Then pie it is." Brooke said as she put the menu down. "So now.. what did you want? And does this has to do with a certain blond blue eyed hottie?"

"If you mean Lucas.. then yeah .. he's still not talking to me and I don't know I'm getting desperate here.."

"And so you called me?"

"Yes.. but .. look .. I didn't mean for it to sound.." Haley babbled.

"Haley.. it's okay.. I told you I would help out.."

"Thanks.." Haley mumbled. "I'm still don't know why you would want to help me out .. " She said softly.

Brooke rolled here eyes. "I thought we went over this.. and besides this will give me some good face with Lucas as well as fulfill my good deed for the year."

"The year?" Haley questioned but shook her head. She didn't have the time to think about how the mind of Brooke Davis works. "Whatever.. like I said .. I need your help.. Lucas has been avoiding me as always.. even with this assignment .. he still won't talk to me."

"So you need some alone time with Lucas hmm.." Brooke put her finger on her mouth, thinking of a solution.

"I mean at school or here.. he just brushes me off.."

"Ah-ha.. I think I have an idea… this Sunday.. Lucas asked me to meet me here in the afternoon."

"But the Karen is going away that day.. and she's going to close the café early.."

"Yeah I know that.. he wanted me to help clear up some crap around here.."

"Really? We just did inventory two weeks ago.."

"I don't know.. I think it's taking away some junk from the roof or something like that.."

"The roof?" Haley's stomach dropped, _the golf course_.

"Yes.. this can work perfectly.. I'll make some excuse to leave for a little bit.. and then you can come upstairs and the door will conveniently lock itself until I come back.. he'll have no choice but to talk to you." Brooke smiled proudly to herself, not noticing the color drain from Haley's face.

Haley smiled nervously, an unsettling feeling coming over her. Hopefully she can reach out to Lucas in time before the last vestiges of their friendship are finally gone.

. . . .

"Hey.. can you talk?" Haley asked over the phone.

"Yeah.. of course.. anything for you.. is everything okay?" Nathan asked concerned.

"Lucas.." Haley softly mumbled.

Nathan sighed. "What did he do now?"

"Same thing he's been doing .. nothing.. I mean absolutely nothing."

"Huh.. I don't .. I don't get it."

"I tried to talk to him again.. it was like talking to a brick wall.. I don't know what to do.."

"Sorry to hear that Hales..."

Haley gave a small smile. She knew that Nathan didn't like Lucas but the fact that he was willing to hear her out while she complained to Nathan about him made her love him even more. He had really come a long way since they restarted their relationship.

"I called Brooke..... she has this scheme of hers to get me alone to talk to Lucas… she did offer to help "

_She better_, Nathan though. "Yeah..."

"Look at me blabbing away again.. I'm sorry..." Haley tried to change the topic. She didn't want to think anymore of how Lucas was going to tear down the golf course they spent years creating on the rooftop of the café. It had meant so much to them both to have that as a place where they could both get away from it all.

"Haley you have nothing to be sorry about .. and there's not much to say over here.." Nathan shifted on his bed uncomfortably.

"Is your dad beating down on you again?" Haley asked hesitantly.

"Actually.. no .. he's been sort of quiet.." Nathan choose his words carefully. "But mom has been a little over-bearing.. practically hovering over me .. I'm glad we got separate hotel rooms." Nathan quickly added, hoping to dodge the topic of his father. He hated lying to her but he wasn't ready to hell her about everything yet. He, himself, was still trying to process the whole thing.

"So you're alone?" Haley asked.

"Yep.. staring at the ceiling.. thinking of what my sexy girlfriend is wearing." Nathan said nonchalantly.

Haley sat up from her bed and rolled her eyes. "You have a one track mind Scott.."

"Can you blame me?" He tried to sound innocent. "I already miss holding you.. touching you.. kissing you.. placing my tongue down.."

"Okay!" Haley cut him off. "I get the picture.."

Nathan chuckled. "You never did answer my question.."

"What question?"

"What're you wearing?"

"Well.. if you must know.. I'm wearing that blue ravens t-shirt of yours."

Nathan licked his lips just thinking of Haley in his t-shirt. He loved seeing her dressed in his clothes. It was another reminder that she was all his and his alone.

"Is that all your wearing?.." Nathan asked in a husky voice.

Haley waited a moment to respond and from his end he could hear Haley doing something but couldn't figure out what.

"Now.. I am.." She smirked. Haley could practically hear the air go out of his lungs. She loved that she had this effect on him even though they were hundreds of miles away.

"How about you?" She asked.

"Oh.. nothing.." He threw out casually. "I was going to take a shower.. you know … it'll feel good .. that warm water all over my body.. it doesn't beat your hands of course.." He smirked, knowing that Haley was imagining everything he was telling her, which of course she was.. "But what's a guy to do.. I'm going to go now.."

"Don't you dare hang up on me Nathan Scott!!!" Haley exclaimed over the phone.

Nathan grinned. "I wouldn't dream of it.."

. . . . .

"Nathan, you can't go back to Tree Hill!" Deb exclaimed.

"Mom, I have school and a life to get to.." Nathan said as he packed his things.

"But you haven't taken the test.."

"…"

"Nathan.. you have to take the test.." Deb said more firmly.

"I will.. just not now.."

"Nathan.."

"Mom.. would you drop it.. I'm not going to take the test."

"Nathan this is your life, we're talking about."

"Yes, mom.. my life!"

"Nathan.. don't you know how serious this is?"

"Actually mom I do.."

"No you don't.. I have my husband.. your father fighting for his life .. and you.." Deb's voice started to crack. "I.. I can't loose you."

"Mom.. you're not going to lose me.." Nathan said in a calmer tone. Nathan sighed. "Look mom, I'm going to take the test.. just not yet okay.."

"But Nathan.."

"But nothing mom, you can't force me to take that test.. Dad went on his whole life without nothing happening to him until now.. I'm sure a couple of days won't mean anything.."

"Sweetie… please.. you have to.."

"Mom.. I already said I will.. okay.. I will take that damn test.."

"Then what's the hold up? I don't get it."

"Mom.. this test will change my life .. if I have HCM.. then that's it .. basketball is gone.. everything I worked for all these years will be gone.."

"Nathan.. honey.." Deb started to feel sympathetic towards her son. "Promise me you won't wait too long to take it.. please.." Deb begged, knowing it was no use in trying to argue with Nathan anymore.

"I'll take the test mom… I just need someone to go with me.."

"I can go with you.." Deb offered.

"Not you mom." Nathan quickly cut her off as he zipped up his bag.

"Oh Haley.. that's right.." Deb tried talking to talking to Nathan during his time here and finally he broke by telling her about Haley. He didn't give all the details, just enough for her curiosity to be quenched.

"No!" Nathan said quickly. "She doesn't know anything yet.. and I'd like to keep it that way thank." He grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

"Then who?"

Nathan looked at her for a moment. "Lucas.." He said simply and then turned around and left.

. . . . . .

Nathan drove back to Tree Hill as fast as he could. He couldn't wait to get out of there and the sooner he was back with Haley the better. He hadn't heard from her yet, he was starting to get worried. She was supposed to talk to Lucas again and he hoped that things would've gone better this time around.

"Hey.. Millicent.." Nathan said over the phone.

"Nathan.. how is my favorite cousin?" Millicent smiled.

"Don't you mean your only cousin?" Nathan smirked back and Millicent giggled.

"What can I do for you Nate?" Millicent asked.

"I was wondering if you got the sketches I sent you?"

"Yes.. by Brooke Davis right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah .. I got them the other day… I loved them.. I can't wait to show them to my boss."

"Thanks Mill.."

"No.. thank you.." The two chatted for a couple of minutes before Nathan hung up and continued driving.

_Brooke better have worked her magic._ Nathan thought or else she can kiss her chances at Rogue Vogue out the window. It wasn't long that Nathan was back in Tree Hill and as he drove, he saw a lonely figure in the River Court. He wanted to see Haley but figured this was a better time than ever to talk to Lucas.

Nathan got out of the car and started to walk towards the court. Lucas continued to work on his free throws and ignored Nathan. Nathan stood there for a moment as Lucas kept shooting. He made three in a row before he missed and the ball landed next to Nathan. Nathan picked it up and just held it in his hands.

"What do you want?" Lucas finally asked.

"To talk to you.." Nathan said putting the ball down.

"Rich coming from you .. are you hear to yell at me .. fight me?" Lucas challenged.

"No.. I came here to talk."

"Why? Did Haley finally toss your sorry ass to the curb?" Lucas laughed.

"Look.. Haley and I are in love .. the sooner you get that through your thick skull.. the better it'll be for everyone."

Lucas looked at him curiously before speaking. "You haven't spoken to Haley yet?"

"No.. I just got back to town .. I haven't spoken to her since last night.."

Lucas smirk went even wider. Nathan recognized that smirk, it matched his own.

"Funny.. I had a little talk with her today.." Lucas said.

"You better have not done something stupid or I swear to God .. she's been doing nothing but trying to be nice to you.."

"Nice to me?" Lucas scoffed. "Please.. I've been a saint through all this.. you on the other hand .. I know exactly who you are.."

"Really you do now?" Nathan challenged. He was sick of Lucas telling him that he wasn't good enough for Haley.

"Yep.. you're the guy that made me quit basketball back in junior high.. the guy who's made it a point to make my life a living hell these past few months .. and now.. now I get to return the favor.. in the process get Haley the hell away from you.."

"Really I'd like to see you try.." Nathan shook his head. There was nothing that was going to tear him and Haley up. He had already lost her once, losing her again wasn't an option for Nathan, especially now.

"I don't need to do anything .. you've done it all yourself.." Lucas smirked.

"What're you talking about?" Nathan questioned.

"Freshmen year.. Quentin Field's beach house party.." Lucas raised his eyebrow and Nathan's stomach dropped as well as the basketball in his hand. "I remember it as if it were yesterday.." Lucas trailed off.

Flashback

_The sun was shining through the windows and landed directly on Lucas' face. He woke up with a pounding headache and turned his head away from the sun. _How much did I drink?_ Lucas thought to himself. He couldn't believe he'd gotten drunk and passed out at the party. _So this is a high school party?_ He thought to himself. He passed out on the couch, and he looked over and saw two people passed out on the floor, another person sleeping on a nearby lounge chair. Lucas chuckled to himself at the site, he was so glad Haley didn't go, but then again maybe if she did he wouldn't have drank so much._

_He looked at his watch and saw how early it was. He immediately reached into his pockets and was relieved that he still had Taylor's car keys. She at least had the sense to hand it over to him last night when she was pretty sure she wasn't going to be able to drive. _Where did she go?_ He asked himself. He remembered her drinking last night and getting pretty wasted, much like him. He was sure she was here somewhere. Just then, he heard a door open down the hall and much to his dismay, he saw Nathan walking out, adjusting his belt and then putting his shirt back on and then heading for the back exit. _

_Lucas rolled his eyes, knowing that he must've hooked up with some slut from school. He wasn't surprised that Nathan would turn into man-whoring. He put his head back down and tried to go back to sleep. At the moment he didn't want to think of Nathan nor the grounding he would surely get from his mother. He'd done a good job of avoiding him at the party, hence the hang over. He lied there for a couple of minutes but couldn't go back to sleep, so instead he just lied there, trying to piece together last night. He heard thr door open again and this time his mouth dropped. Out of the same room, Nathan stepped out of only 15 minutes ago, he saw Taylor walk out, also adjusting her clothes. She looked around and spotted Lucas looking at her. _

_She wearily walked over to him. "Good you're awake.." Taylor said shaking her head, obviously carrying a hang over as well. "Let's go.." She said as she walked towards the exit. _

End Flashback

"You.. you were there.." Nathan said nervously.

"Yeah.. I saw you .. kind of avoided you .. that was until the next morning when I saw you slip out.."

Nathan took a step back, he was really nervous now.

"I waited all this time for Haley to figure out what a dog you were … but don't worry man, I won't tell Haley how you slept with her sister…" Nathan felt sick, he felt like he was going to throw up. "At least.. I won't have to tell her again.." Lucas smirked even wider. It was the same smirk he gave Lucas every time he bullied him and in that moment Nathan knew that him and his brother definitely shared more than their last name.

To Be Continued . . . .

So some of you guessed right before that Taylor slept with Nathan. This was his big bad secret he was hiding and for good reason, next chapter you'll get into more insight as to how everything happened as well as Haley's reaction to all this. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!


	21. Chapter 21

Winners and Losers

Chapter 21

Thank you guys for the fabulous reviews !! Like I said, it really helps and here we go again, another update so soon! So more answers will be revealed, just keep in mind that no one is a saint in this story, Nathan, Lucas and certainly not Haley, so don't be too hard on them. They make mistakes and that's the point, their young and still finding their way. But then again, it's nice to read such comments, it means that I'm doing my job, hehe. Lucas is an ass and I am not denying it, but remember he's hurt and Nathan was just as bad as he was and quite frankly, he still doesn't trust Nathan nor his feelings for Haley. Btw, Lucas last line was meant to taunt Nathan. He did tell Haley, he just won't have to tell her again.

Also, I loved last night's episode. I think they handled Brooke's attack, Q's death pretty good, a little soapish nothing as bad as the Carrie story. I feel bad for Sam, I do but I just don't like her as much as I liked Q. It was also nice to see more references with Q, I hope he gets justice. I feel bad for Peyton and don't understand why there's this cancer/pregnancy scare. For oursakes, I hope its just a miscarriage because cancer would just be making it way too over the top. I'm also a fan of a Julian/Brooke hook up but at the same time I don't think Brooke should get Peyton's sloppy seconds either. I still think they should bring the doctor guy from season 5. What if Brooke took Peyton to the hospital and she meets him again!? Also, I felt the whole Owen thing came out of nowhere and was a little forced but at the same time, Owen had a point, he just didn't realize how bad the situation was with Sam. I actually hope that Sam does not stay too long on the show, I mean she's not Q and I think after this whole thing with the attacker/shooter storyline is done that I think she should go off on tour with Mia or something. I thought Dawson was funny but felt out of place, his ideas were whack but they made me chuckle.

I love Jamie but that whole talent show thing was corny, I'm sorry.. he wasn't funny at all and his piano sucked even more.. talk about the most forced thing ever. As much as I love Jamie, I think maybe he is getting a little bit more screen time as he should, it seems as if his storyline mirrors Nathan in a way.. I would love to see it more with him and Haley, she is his mother after all, although I love the father/son moments.. anything NHJ is always good. I love my Naley, I just wish they get it on already. I mean, the have guns, drug users, liquor but they can't show two married people getting their freak on! LoLz, but it is nice that we've seen a little more passion between Nathan and Haley. Also, I feel bad for Nathan, I do hope he gets his shot but at the same time, I'd love for him to define himself outside a basketball player. He's already a good husband and father, but I'm wondering if there is more to him than just that. It was great to see him "comeback" but I would love to see him being defined as something other than a basketball player. But we'll see.. I'm hoping for a season 7.. please please! I can't believe that season 6 is halfway done, I still feel like they got a lot legs left and I think a season 7 will help bring the show to a great ending where Mark can finally wrap everything up. The finale in season 4 actually would've made a great series finale but I'm hoping for something like that in season 7 where we take it back old school, we get back to the relationship between Lucas and Nathan and their issues with Dan. Bring back Karen again for a little bit and Whitey, how about a Whitey funeral for either the opening of season 7 or the ending? I don't know just a thought....

Sorry for any grammar/spelling, I could only proofread so much on my own. Anyways, here we go… please review!!!

. . . .

"I waited all this time for Haley to figure out what a dog you were … but don't worry man, I won't tell Haley how you slept with her sister…"

Nathan felt sick, he felt like he was going to throw up. "At least.. I won't have to tell her again.." Lucas smirked even wider. Lucas watched as his brother ran off and couldn't hide the grin on his face. He casually walked over to where Nathan dropped his basketball, picked it up and resumed playing. Lucas had to wonder if Nathan's feelings were actually for real. At this point, he didn't care, the point is that he got her away from Haley and that's all that mattered. He knew he'd upset Haley but it was for her own good. He knew one day that Haley would understand and that she'll thank him for opening her eyes to the real Nathan Scott.

Nathan ran off the rivercourt and jumped into his car and drove like a bat out of hell. He reached for his phone and tried to dial Haley's number but it was off and went straight to voicemail. He drove straight to her house and saw that her parent's weren't there. He knocked and rang the bell but no one answered. He even went so far as to climb up the tree next to Haley's window to see if she had locked herself up in her room. He had to go see her, to explain his side of the story.

He looked into her dark room and saw that she wasn't home. He climbed back down and went back into his car. He passed by Karen's Café but it was closed, he took the long way back home, maybe he would find Haley wondering Tree Hill somewhere. He made it back to his house and dropped his duffle bag by the front door. He walked up the stairs and saw a faint glow from his bedroom.

He cautiously walked inside, he already had enough surprises for the day. He opened the door and was shocked to see his room lit by candles everywhere and there sprawled on his bed was Haley, dressed only in a white silk robe. He had to remember to breath just taking the site of the beauty before him.

"What's.. what's this?" Nathan muttered after the initial shock had worn out. Haley loved his reaction, it was just what she was going for.

"I was thinking of flowers .. but I figured that it's something you can do.." She winked at him and made herself a little more comfortable as she shifted into a more provocative position.

"Hales.." He said as he walked over to his bed and took a seat next to her. "What happened with Luc.."

"SHHH!!" She silenced him by putting her finger on his lips. "I don't want to talk about him.. I only want to be with you.." Haley said as she closed the gap between them and placed her luscious lips on his. Nathan was getting lost in the kiss, it had been far too long since he had the pleasure, the honor of kissing Haley James. But he quickly broke away, letting reality take over.

"Wait.. Hales.." Nathan tried to pull away but Haley wasn't having it.

"Nathan.." She pouted and forced her lips back on his. He knew he should stop, knew they had to talk but he was having a hard time focusing on that while Haley was currently struggling to get his shirt off.

"Hales.." He tried to muster his strength again. "..we should talk.."

"Talk later.." She muttered against his lips. "I love you .. and I miss you .. and I need you now!" She said breathlessly leaving no room for arguments as she removed his shirt and her hand grazed across his chest and stomach. And just like that all logic flew out the window.

"I love you.." Nathan muttered against her lips as he left a trail down to the soft spot on her neck. He pushed her back onto the bed and laid on top of her. Their lips frantically met each other, battling for control. "God.. I've missed you.." Nathan mumbled against her lips as he removed the robe from Haley. She pried open his belt, his jeans and boxers coming off shortly there after.

She gasped when she felt his powerful erection press up against her stomach. God she missed that special part of him, the part of him that could relieve the quivering between her legs. Nathan moved his hand down her side and on her thighs, spreading her legs, which she did so willingly. She was already so wet and Nathan had to keep his cool or else he could go right there and then.

"Nathan.. please.." She begged as he hit the soft spot on her neck again. _Now this is a homecoming, _Nathan thought to himself. His last remnants of will power left him and he thrust his hips forward, his whole length ramming right through her. She felt pain but more importantly pleasure. She gasped for air but couldn't speak, her mouth forming a perfect "O." Nathan gripped her hips tightly and rocked his body back and forth with deadly speed. Haley couldn't believe how close she already was but then again it has been a few days. It was a good thing no one was home but it wouldn't have mattered, nothing could stop Haley from crying out Nathan's name in pleasure. It only made him go faster as his favorite mantra kept playing itself off Haley's lips.

Nathan could see her trying to hold back, to fight off the wave of pleasure that was sure to hit her. He placed one hand on her shoulders and changed positions as he lowered his body on hers. Sweat formed on both their bodies as they moved as one. He needed her to come and come now, there was only so much more he could take before he himself went.

"Come for me baby.." He whispered in her ears and took a hold of her mouth with his lips. It was all she needed as she practically screamed into his mouth, her tight walls caving in on Nathan and he couldn't hold back either as he spilled everything he had in her.

He collapsed on top of her, neither of them caring that Nathan was crushing Haley beneath him. She didn't mind, she missed the feel of his warm body pressed up against her. Haley wrapped her arms around Nathan, enjoying the feel of his muscular back. They tried to catch their breaths as sweat continued to pour from their bodies. They laid there for a few minutes in complete and content silence.

Haley's body was still humming from the immense pleasure she just received and she licked her lips in anticipation as Nathan was still inside her, hard as ever, and she knew it wouldn't take Nathan long to get back on the saddle sort of speak. Nathan looked up into her deep soulful brown eyes, getting lost in them, not thinking or caring about the world outside his bedroom. Right now, it was just him and her, two people who love each other. It couldn't be as complicated or as simple as that. He leaned forward and kissed her once more and didn't stop, as he slowly began to rock his hips back and forth once again.

. . . .

"Whatever it is your worrying about .. just stop.." Haley said as she rested her head against Nathan's chest, her fingers tracing small circles across his abs.

"How do you know I'm worried? You can't even see me." Nathan questioned.

"You think I need my eyes to see what's going on with you.." Haley grinned and sat up on her elbows to look at him. "What's on your mind?" She questioned, but before he could reply she beat him to it. "I totally forgot.. how was the rest of your trip.. did your parents give you a hard time about leaving early?"

"Umm.. well my mom was kind of giving me grief this morning.. and my dad.. well.. let's just say that I don't think he notice that I left." Nathan gave a hesitant smile. The truth was the doctors were keeping him in a self induced coma to minimize the risks of any brain damage he could've suffered from the last heart attack. They needed to run more tests and needed a few more days so they could run an MRI and compare it with his previous.

"Well.. you're here now.. so that's all that matters." Haley stated and leaned up to give Nathan a quick kiss.

"I'm glad to be back.." Nathan replied, he hated to ruin the moment but they eventually had to talk about the big bad elephant in the room. "Look Hales. . I ran into Lucas.."

"I don't want to about him." She said quickly and rested her head back on Nathan's chest.

"Hales.." Nathan whined. She turned around to face him but couldn't look at him. She sighed. "I think that my friendship with him is really over.."

_Flashback (Earlier)_

"_Oh crap.. I have to go." Brooke said as she held out the garbage bag in front of him. _

"_Go huh?" Lucas questioned. _

"_Yeah.. I need to pick up dry cleaning."_

"_On a Sunday."_

"_Exactly.. Sunday.. they close early.. I'll be back before you know it."_

_Lucas laughed. "Like I'm going to fall for that… Just say you don't want to help me clean up this place."_

"_Lucas, I'm serious.. I told you I'd help you out and I will.. I just need to run this quick errand.. if I don't pick it up today then I'd have to wait until Tuesday because they close early on Monday and I got cheer practice late tomorrow.."_

"_This dry cleaning place has awful times.." Lucas smirked._

"_No.. I'm just busy.. don't worry I'll be quick.. I'll be back before you know it.."_

"_Uh-hu.. I won't hold my breath.."_

"_Funny Scott… anyways I'm going to go.. don't miss me too much.." And with that Brooke was off. _

_Not less than ten minutes later, Lucas heard the door open and close._

"_I didn't believe it when you said you'd come right back.." Lucas turned around but his smile quickly faded when he saw that it was Haley, not Brooke that opened the door._

"_What're you doing here?" He quickly questioned._

"_I forgot something .. I heard noises up here.." Haley walked around and saw the golf course they had spent building was already taken down._

"_Luke.. what're you doing?" Haley asked and even Lucas could hear the pain in her voice. _

"_I'm taking it down.. there's no use for it anymore." He felt like a jerk for saying it but knew he must remain strong. _

"_How could you say that Luke? This was our place.." Haley said softly and shook her head._

"_Kind of like how your dating Nathan.."_

"_Luke.. I'm sorry I didn't tell you.. I wanted to .. I did.."_

"_You don't get it, do you?" Lucas asked._

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Yes you lied.. lied to me in front of my face for years and what's worst was the fact that it was him!" _

"_Lucas.."_

"_YOU of all people knew what he did to me all those years ago… what he did to me when I joined the team this year!" _

"_Luke, I know .. I tried my best .."_

"_What? Tried your best to what.. for him to stop.. to stop with the name calling.. to stop with the bullying .. stop him from tying me up and ditching me in an empty field.. and the whole time we found out the truth about us, he has made it a point to make my life a living hell..did you try to reason with him before or after you dropped your panties for him!"_

_Haley had enough and slapped him. He wasn't surprised but he'll be damn if he's the bad guy in all this. _

"_Funny.. you're sleeping with the enemy and I'm the one that gets slapped.. open your eyes Haley, he's just using you!"_

"_He's not! He loves me .. and I love him.. Luke.. I'm just asking you to understand.."_

"_No!!… I can never understand how my supposed best friend is sleeping with the guy who's made it a mission in his life to ruin me." _

_Haley knew he made a valid point but also knew that Lucas was stubborn, just like his brother. _

"_Luke.. he's been trying .. that has to mean something.. look I'm not asking you to just forgive and forget what he did to you… but please Luke.. don't think for a minute that I didn't think about you .. I tried my best to reason with him .. and you're right I could've tried harder but dammit Luke, I love him .. it's not my fault I did.. it just happened and it's something I can't just wish away."_

"_For me? Haley please.. don't try to make yourself a martyr.."_

"_Luke I have done everything I could for you guys to work things out but both of you are equally as stubborn.. and for the record Luke.. it's because of me that the hazing stopped.. and it's because of me that your even on the team."_

_Lucas raised his eyebrow. "What're you talking about?"_

_If she was going to come clean, she might as well come out with everything. "Nathan lost on purpose.."_

"_Huh? At the river court? You mean to tell me he lost on purpose.."_

"_Yes.." She softly muttered._

"_Ha.. that's the biggest joke if I ever heard one myself.. is that one he told you? Please Haley.. I beat him fair and square." _

"_You were going to go for a lay up.." Haley muttered and paced back and forth, not looking at Lucas. "But you were hesitating if you should use the fade away.. so Nathan made it easy for you.. he took a half step back.. you saw the opening .. you took it .. Nathan was close enough to block it but he didn't.. and you made the shot.."_

_Lucas stood there shocked, since when did Haley know a thing about basketball. For years, him and the guys have tried to teach her the sport but with no avail._

"_.. or something like that.." Haley muttered this time looking at Lucas' shocked expression. "At least that's what Nathan told me.." _

"_You're .. you're lying.." Lucas' voice was shaky. _

"_You think I could've said all that on my own.." Haley pointed out._

_He knew she was telling the truth, knew that that's what happened that night on the river court. He remembered Nathan taking that half step but just figured he was caught off guard and didn't have time to react and block the ball. _

"_He.. he lost on purpose.." He muttered._

"_Yes.."_

_Lucas' anger only grew. That night on the Rivercourt meant everything to him. It was years of built up anger, frustration, humiliation that resulted in him finally getting one over the great Nathan Scott. Now he just found out that it was all a lie, everything around him was a lie. Nathan should've won that night, he didn't deserve his place on the Raven's squad. It was a blow to his stomach, his pride.. his core._

"_So this whole time he lost on purpose.. but still made it a point to make my life a living hell.." Lucas shook his head. "So not only did I have to see him everyday at practice but he had this over my head the whole time while he knew he could've beat me but now he could at least get to me while I'm on the team.. thanks Haley.. thanks for everything!" Lucas walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down on the street. _

"_I started to tutor him in exchange .. he stopped picking on you.. I'm sorry Luke.."_

"_Not as sorry as I am.." Lucas turned around to face Haley. _

"_Luke.. I know I hurt you but please .. Nathan's been civil.. I know it doesn't make up for all the times he was an ass to you but please Luke.. you're my best friend .. he's my boyfriend.. I can't keep choosing sides here.. I'm not asking you to be friends with him .."_

"_And what.. pretend everything is fine when it's not.. Haley.. he's using you to just get to me and you're letting him.."_

"_Luke.. please it's not like that.. look he loves me.. I can't explain it but he does.. and I love him .. when you get to know him.. you'll realize that he's not the guy that everyone thinks he is…"_

"_Haley.. it's him or me.. it's as simple as that.."_

"_Luke.. no!" She pleaded._

"_Haley.. yes!" He mocked. "Like I said, he's using you and the faster you realize that.. the better off you'll be .... you may think you love him Haley.. but you don't.. I get it .. he's good looking, charming even.. it's all an act.. he uses that with girls all the time.. I didn't think you'd fall for it but whatever .. it's okay.. the sooner you cut him off the better.. you'll be.."_

"_I can not believe you just said that.. I do love him.. I LOVE him and I know it's hard for you to understand.."_

"_I can't believe your falling for all his crap.. you know how he is with girls.."_

"_I know his past.."_

"_Do you?! Do you really?"_

"_I know he's been with other girls.. and it's okay.. it was before we got back together.."_

"_How about when you guys were together?"_

"_He is not cheating on me…"_

"_Well I don't have proof that he's cheating on you now.. which he probably is .. lord knows where he went off to these past few days .. but whatever.. why did you guys break up the first time?"_

_Haley shook her head. "We.. I just wasn't ready yet back then.. it was my fault.. I pushed Nathan away .. and by the time I tried to talk to him.. the damage was already done.."_

"_You said this was freshmen year right .. when you were sick.."_

"_Yeah.."_

"_You didn't push Nathan away.. he just found a different chick to hook up with.. God.. you of all people should know what a player he turned out to be.."_

"_Look Luke.. that was after …"_

"_Quentin Field's.." Lucas interrupted. "That party I went to with Taylor.."_

"_Huh?"_

"_You remember right?"_

"_Yeah.. you got wasted.. you and Taylor didn't get home and your mom grounded you .. how could I forget.."_

"_I saw your '_boyfriend'_ there.. he had quite the night.."_

"_That was a long time ago.."_

"_.. with Taylor.." He finished._

"_Taylor? What?"_

"_I was passed out on the couch .. Taylor gave me her keys cuz she was drinking too much .. I woke up and saw Nathan coming out one of the bedrooms .. Taylor came walking out right after him.."_

"_No.."_

"_YES.. and I remember Taylor being very friendly back then .. it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened between the two of them.."_

"_No.. you're .. you're lying.."_

"_Why would I lie?.. I thought by now you realized what an ass he really is.. I guess he's just good at covering tracks.."_

_She slapped him again, she didn't know why but she just snapped. The thought of him and her sister made her sick. It couldn't be true, Nathan wouldn't dare do that, would he?_

"_You're just trying to put doubts into my head.. I won't let you.."_

"_I guess you made your choice.."_

"_What?"_

"_Me or him.. I see you choose him .. it's hard to believe that you've turned into one of his bimbos.. I actually thought you were better than that.. I guess I was wrong.. we're done here.. you can go now.." Lucas simply stated and the two of them just stood there, neither moving. "Here bring this to the dumpster out back will you.." Lucas said handing her black trash bag. _

_Haley's eyes welled up with tears as she took a step back from. She couldn't believe that after all these years of friendship that this was it, this was the end, all the memories and laughter all thrown away. And he thought Nathan was such an ass, he should look in the mirror, Haley thought. She turned around and bolted for the door. _

"_Don't say I didn't warn you when he breaks your heart!!" Lucas called out and Haley ran as fast as she could. She made it home a short time later and knew that Lucas had to be lying. There was no way Nathan could do that. She looked at her watch and knew that he would be arriving in a few hours. She wasn't going to let Lucas take any more from her._

End Flashback

Haley sat on the bed, her knees curled up to her chin, Nathan's thin sheets covering her nude form. She sighed, "I can't believe he's resorting to lies now.." Haley shook her head. "Don't worry … I didn't believe him for a second.. I know you would never do something like that.." Haley reached out and stroke Nathan's cheeks.

He sat there, quiet, his face as serious as sin. Haley looked at him curiously and was now getting nervous.

"You.. you wouldn't right.." Her voice shaky.

"Haley.." Nathan choked out.

"Oh God.. you .. you slept with my sister?!" Haley pulled back in fear.

"No.. no!" Nathan shook his head. "I didn't sleep with Taylor.. I mean that night.. we slept together.. like in the same room.. I never had sex with her.."

"Ohh.." Haley felt relieved. "Sorry I panicked just now.." She tried to laugh it off.

"But.."

"But?" Haley gave him a look.

Nathan took a deep breath. "But something else happened .."

"What?!"

"Something that I kept from you .. about Taylor.."

Haley clutched her knees tighter, she was suddenly very, very worried.

To Be Continued . . . .

Sorry for the mislead with Taylor but if you've read my other works, you'd know that I love to take stuff from the show and sort of twist it in my own way. I was actually surprised that I actually didn't reference as much from the show as I had in other stories but whatever. Last night's episode was good, it helped with the whole basketball thing and of course a nod to season 3 naley. In the upcoming chapters, we'll find out what's Nathan's big bad secret, how Haley will react, what'll happen between Naley, Lucas/Haley, Nathan/Lucas and the whole HCM thing. Like I said before, we're heading for the home stretch with this story. I hope your enjoying and please please review!!!


	22. Chapter 22

Winners and Losers

Chapter 22

Thank you guys for the reviews, I've been blown away these past few chapters. I have to say to Sarah, don't insult me then try to compliment me, here's a big ^ and don't read. Although you did inspire me with a character in this chapter. With that said, this chapter will be kinda graphic and deal with some mature issues. Like I said before, this is not a fluff piece and no one in this story are saints, be warned. I would mention what it is but I would ruin it, what transpires below is something I don't promote but it happens everyday. Remember they all make mistakes and for Nathan, his will be revealed this chapter.

I hope I don't get anyone confused but I'll just say that the first scene of the story is the present, then it goes into a flashback where we last saw Nathan and Haley and then from there it goes into another flashback to the party and then back to Nathan and Haley.

Sorry for any grammar/spelling, I wanted to get this out ASAP. Like I said before, sorry for the delay, a lot of personal stuff has come up and I got so behind on work. Luckily I had sometime this afternoon. I'll try to get an another update as soon as I can. Thanks for the bday wishes !!! Enjoy and please review!!

. . . .

Lucas walked into school, not particularly looking forward to it. He had his project due today but he shrugged it off. He found an old photo of Haley tutoring some student and figured that would be enough for him to pass. It wasn't like he was doing bad in the class and if he got a bad grade then so be it, it wouldn't affect him as much. His day was looking up when he noticed Nathan. Usually, he walked into school like he owned the place, in some ways he did. But recently, he would walk in with Haley firmly by his side. Today though, he came in anything looking like the confident Nathan Scott and more importantly, Haley was not by his side.

He smirked to himself, realizing that he had done Haley the biggest favor by cutting loose Nathan Scott from her life. His suspicions were confirmed when Haley casually and coldly walked by him, not sparing him a glance or a look, while he looked on like a lost puppy searching for his owner. Lucas had to wonder why he was so upset, it was probably because Nathan's plan to ruin his life backfired although a small part of Lucas thought that maybe Nathan really did love her. He shook his head, it couldn't be the case. The only love Nathan Scott knew of was of himself.

"Hey Lucas.." Haley said casually. Lucas closed his locker and faced her. He tried to hold his tongue and not say, I told you so.

"Look.. I wanted to say I'm sorry…" She said nervously, but Lucas remained stoic.

"I know .. and a thank you would be nice.." Lucas crossed his arms. Haley looked at him for a second, confused as to what he was talking about.

"_Thank you_?" Haley mumbled.

"Yeah.. _thank you_.. I'm glad you've finally come to realize what an ass Nathan Scott really is.." Lucas said smugly.

"He didn't sleep with Taylor.." Haley said cautiously as she felt her own anger rising up.

"Ha.. please.. that jerk would fuck anything that walks .. I mean you .." Lucas stopped himself. His own anger and hurt from the whole experience was still raw for him and decided that maybe he was being a little too harsh at the moment.

Haley took a deep breath, trying to control her rage. "You don't get it do you?" Haley shook her head.

"Get what?"

"Anything … I love him.. I .. I loved him.. and I loved you too.."

"You couldn't possibly love that ass.."

"The only ass I see is you.." Haley bit back. She was mad, hell she was pissed. Her world felt like a never ending roller coaster and she just wanted to get off the ride and unfortunately, she had to get off alone. She quickly walked away but Lucas called out to her.

"You're still with him?" He asked.

"No.. I don't want anything to do with him.. or you!" And with that she stormed off.

. . . .

Flashback

"Oh God.. you .. you slept with my sister?!" Haley pulled back in fear.

"No.. no!" Nathan shook his head. "I didn't sleep with Taylor.. I mean that night.. we slept together.. like in the same room.. I never had sex with her.."

"Ohh.." Haley felt relieved. "Sorry I panicked just now.." She tried to laugh it off.

"But.."

"But?" Haley gave him a look.

Nathan took a deep breath. "But something else happened .."

"What?!"

"Something that I kept from you .. about Taylor.."

Haley clutched her knees tighter, she was suddenly very, very worried. Nathan took a deep breath, knowing that the words that were going to come from his mouth would change his relationship with Haley forever.

Nathan looked around at the party his teammate Quentin was throwing. He should be having fun, spending time with his teammates and knowing the he was only one of a few freshmen here at the party. But Nathan was miserable, he missed Haley, hated how things were going with her. She was scared, he understood but sneaking around was something Nathan didn't want to do anymore. At first it was fun, but now.. now he just didn't want to hide his relationship with Haley. He wanted to hold her hands down the hall while he walked her to class or pick her up at her house so they could watch a movie together. But no, things were far from that. She was scared to tell her precious Lucas all about their relationship.. fling.. whatever it was now. Just thinking about him got his blood boiling, Nathan hated Lucas. Nathan hated himself because was actually jealous of him. Lucas had Haley and that was one of many reasons why he hated him.

"_Nate.. glad you can make it!" Quentin padded his shoulder._

"_Glad to be here .. thanks for having me.." Nathan forced a smile._

"_Hey .. we're teammates right .. but why the sad face.."_

"_Sad face?" Nathan tried to play it off._

"_Well whatever your worried about .. stop.. there's plenty of hot girls here .. and more importantly .. lots of free booze.." Quentin gave Nathan the other beer in his hands and the two toasted. "Drink up buddy.." _

_Nathan hated the taste of beer but looking down at the cold bottle in his hands, it was probably the only thing he could help take his mind off Haley. Nathan took a sip and his eyes wondered and notice Taylor there with her friends. Quentin followed his gaze._

"_Oh stay away from her.."_

"_From who?"_

"_Taylor.. that bitch is crazy.." _

"_Crazy?" Nathan asked._

"_Yeah.. I mean I was hitting that a few weeks ago but I had to end it.."_

"_Why?" Nathan asked curiously._

_. . . ._

"_I can't believe it took us this long to get here.." Lucas said as they were walking up the stairs to the house._

"_What.. I had a weak bladder.." Taylor tried to play it off. "Aight.. before we go in.. you understand the ground rules?"_

"_Yes.. no talking to you unless it's absolutely an emergency.." _

_Taylor smiled and nodded. "Good.. shall we.." _

_The two entered the house and it was already buzzing with people. Taylor immediately saw her friends and went over to them, leaving Lucas to stand there awkwardly. He started to regret coming here, especially without Haley. Lucas started to walk around and noticed a bunch of people from his school, mostly upper classmen though. A couple of minutes later, he saw Nathan on the other side of the living room and rolled his eyes. Of course he would be here, he thought to himself. He saw him talking to Sarah, a junior at Tree Hill and one of the biggest sluts in school. It didn't surprise Lucas at all that Nathan would hang out with such trash. _

_Not wanting to start anything tonight, he knew that he should avoid Nathan at all costs. He walked in the opposite direction, hoping to find people he knew to hang out with. _

"_Lucas!!" A voice called out. Lucas turned around and saw Antwon, or Skills as they called him. _

"_Skills! Hey man how are you.." The two guys fist pumped._

"_I'm good .. what brings a little old freshmen like you here.." Skills teased. Skills was a year ahead of Lucas but Lucas had advanced literature, which was a sophomore class, with Skills. The two instantly clicked at the beginning of the school year and had remained friendly but this was the first time they were hanging out outside of school._

"_I came here with a friend of mine.. Taylor.. Taylor James.."_

"_Damn son! She's hitting you off too? Nice work my man.." _

_Lucas laughed and shook his head. "No.. it's nothing like that .. she's just a friend.. I grew up with her little sister .."_

"_If that's your story.." Skills shrugged. "Come on.. let's get you a drink.. I know where my cousin keeps the good stuff." _

"_Lead the way.." Lucas followed. _

_. . . . ._

_Nathan was drunk, more than that he was plastered. He had to admit he was having a good time on the outside, but as soon as he was left alone with his thoughts, images of Haley came back to him and he became just as miserable, angry and upset. _

"_Natey!!!" A voice called out and it didn't help that Nathan couldn't shake off this bitch. He was not in the mood to talk, in fact, he just wanted to get the hell out of there, call a taxi and head home and jack off to thoughts of Haley. _

"_Sarah.." Nathan said plainly. "You're still here.." Nathan said with a bit of disappointment. _

"_You can't get rid of me that easily.." She said as she held up two shots in front of her. "I come bearing gifts." _

"_Great.." He said sarcastically. He tried to get away but the bitch wasn't having it. His anger and annoyance only grew more. Reluctantly, he decided to take the shot, knowing it was the only way to get rid of her. _

"Ahh.. so good.." She purred as she gently placed a hand on his chest.

"_Umm.. I'll.. I'll be back.." Nathan walked away as quickly as possible, but the shot was starting to hit on top of all his other drinks and he began to stumble. Trying to keep his composure amongst the other drunken fools at the party, he stepped inside a guest bedroom on the first floor. _

_Closing the door behind him, he sighed a breath of relief. _

"What're you doing here?" A voice called out which startled Nathan.

"_I can ask you the same thing.." Nathan looked at Taylor who was slumped up against the wall with a half bottle of vodka in her hands. Now Nathan had a better look at her and although she wasn't as pretty as Haley, no one was as pretty as her, she sure reminded him of her. The alcohol was really kicking in and it was as if Haley was right there in front of him. _

"_I see the rumors were wrong.." Nathan added._

"_What're you talking about?" Taylor asked and Nathan nodded to the bottle._

"_Oh.. I don't know what you're talking about.."_

"_Don't try to play it off .. I talked to Quentin…"_

"_And I saw you with Sarah.. I don't know if my sister would approve.."_

"_I don't know what you're talking about." Nathan sounded repetitive and Taylor tried to hide her grin. _

"_Don't think I don't know who sneaks up to my little sister's room at night.. I didn't know my sister had a fetish for Scott men." Taylor smirked, seeing the tense look on Nathan's face. Just the mere mention of Haley and Lucas got his blood boiling once more._

"Yeah.. well we all know how you James sleeps around." Now it was Nathan's turn to smirk. He didn't know Taylor, never had a conversation with her until now but they knew enough about each other and right now he was taking out his frustrations out on her.

_She walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face. _

"_And feisty too.." Nathan rubbed his cheeks. "Is that what Quentin liked?" He smirked back._

"_He .. he told you.."_

"_More like advertised it to the whole team .. but telling him your pregnant just to keep him, that's pretty low.."_

_She slapped him again and Nathan didn't mind. He was angry and hurt and the pain seemed to dull everything out. _

"_I wasn't lying!"_ Taylor said on the brink of tears.

"So you're carrying around his bastard child.." Nathan scoffed. "I don't know .. from what I hear anyone could be the father.." Nathan knew it was a low blow but he felt like crap and he wanted nothing more than to take anyone and everyone down with him.

She slapped him again but Nathan didn't flinch. Nathan took a step forward but as soon as he did, he felt the room spinning. His stomach was in knots and he looked at the corner and saw a bathroom and made a mad dash to it. He threw up everything he had in his stomach and Taylor looked down on him with pity and disdain. She came into this room because it had it's own bathroom, where her morning sickness decided to play itself out at night. As Nathan held his head over the toilet, he started laughing.

"_What's so funny?" Taylor asked curiously. _

"_I'm just thinking about you.. and that baby of yours.. it's pretty funny.. he'll be a loser just like you.. just like Lucas.." He laughed harder. _

"_Lord knows the world would be a better place with out Pucas ..around and if… if his mom had only listen to my dad but now look at them.. they're pathetic.. just like how you're going to be.. you can do the right thing and just get rid of it .. so just save yourself the heartache and embarrassment." He laughed again before throwing up once more and then finally hunching over and passing out on the floor. _

_Taylor's eyes brimmed with tears. It was then that she decided to finally open the bottle of vodka. _

_The next morning, Nathan woke up and his whole body ached. He passed out on the floor, in one of the most awkward positions. He noticed the puke stains on his shirt and he removed it and went to the faucet to try and wash some of it out. His head was still pounding and he loosened his belt to undo his pants to take a leak but that's when he noticed a figure lying in the bed. He saw Taylor passed out with an empty bottle of vodka by her side. Suddenly, the memory of what happened the night before came back to him. He quickly grabbed his shirt and quietly made it out of the room. Once outside he put his shirt back on and adjusted his belt, hoping that no one saw him. _

_Taylor woke up shortly thereafter, knowing what she had to do. Taylor walked out of the room, adjusting her clothes to try and hide her belly. . She looked around and spotted Lucas looking at her. _

_She wearily walked over to him. "Good you're awake.." Taylor said shaking her head, obviously carrying a hang over as well. "Let's go.." She said as she walked towards the exit. _

_Hours later, Nathan was restless. He took a nap but that didn't seem to help. It was a restless sleep as he kept thinking about Haley and what happened the night before. Deciding to end this, he got up and made his way to Haley's house. He had to see her in person and tell her that he was sorry and that they could take things slow, whatever she needed. He just wanted to be with her. He also hoped he would run into Taylor and apologize for last night. He knew he did a shitty thing, a new low even for him. _

_He got his wish when he slowly made his way to the house and notice Taylor getting out of her car. She looked like crap. She was wearing sweats and a sweatshirt, her hair pulled back into a messy bun and it looked as if she was crying. _

_She heard his footsteps and turned around to see him. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before either spoke._

"_Hey.. about last night.." Nathan started to speak._

"_You were right.." She said plainly. She looked at him with a cold look. "I took care of it." And with that she walked away and went inside her house. Suddenly, it was as if someone had punched him in the guts. He had never been more ashamed in his life. He couldn't face Haley, not after this, that he was the reason that she wasn't going to be an aunt. He turned back and ran away from Haley and into the darkening night, where it took him 2 years to come back out into the light. _

Haley's eyes were filled with tears and Nathan didn't know what else to say.

"I can't believe this.." She said barely above a whisper. "This.. this was all your fault.. all your fault." She said more forcefully.

"Haley.. please.."

"NO!!" She got up and covered her naked body with Nathan's blanket. She scurried to put her clothes on and Nathan reached over and put his boxers back on.

"Haley .. please listen to me.. I'm sorry.."

"Sorry!!" She slapped him hard and felt the familiar numbness on his cheeks. Now all the pieces were starting to come together for Haley. Everything with her sister these past few years started to make sense.

"Sorry doesn't hide the fact that my sister got addicted to antidepressants .. that my parents always leave me behind so they could go and find her off in some random city and take her to rehab where we all know she'll just end up back there in a few weeks!!" She was so angry and upset she didn't know what to think anymore.

"For so long.. I thought you were the only good thing in my life .. it turns out .. you're the one that ruined it!"

"Haley.." Nathan tried to plead.

"Oh my God.. I can't.. I can't even look at you.." The tears freely flowing down Haley's eyes.

"Haley.. please don't go.." Nathan's voice cracked at the realization that he might be loosing her. His own eyes getting watery.

"I'm.. I'm already gone.." She said as she ran out of his room.

End Flashback

To Be Continued . . . .

I hope you liked this chapter, it was a little difficult to write, especially with all the mature themes here but like I said, these kind of things happen every day. Yes, we have the Naley fall out but hey this is a Naley story so don't worry. There's still the HCM issue and with Lucas and Nathan, there's still more drama ahead. When I first started this story, I thought that I would make Nathan and Taylor sleep together but like many of you said before, it wouldn't be right since Nathan already knew Haley so I decided to do a little misdirection. Like I said before, no one in this story are saints. Lucas punished Haley for her lies and now Lucas and Nathan have to deal with their own demons. I hope you enjoyed and please please review!!!!


	23. Chapter 23

Winners and Losers

Chapter 23

Sorry guys for the long wait, as you know things are just hectic. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and have a happy new year. Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I had a lot of private messages about this story and when the update will be. I thought I would have time over Christmas and New Years but my grandfather passed away right after Christmas so yeah you can imagine. Those who've been following my work also know that this is the third death in my family in the last three months so as you can imagine my creativity has been kind of flat. I'm hoping with this new chapter (and your reviews) and the return of OTH that my inspiration will come back to me.

I thought last night's episode was really good. I didn't see the need to have the whole cancer/pregnancy thing, I mean if she's pregnant, she's pregnant. It sucks that I feel we'll get more LP cute pregnancy moments than NH but whatever. I am happy for them though. I'm totally shipping for Julian and Brooke. I thought the episode was a good way to close the chapter of Brooke's attack and Q. Although, I hope Sam is not permanent on the show. She's not as likeable as Q and I'd rather have Q than her. I hope maybe Sam goes back to her real mom or on tour with Mia. Speaking of Q, I thought Jamie and Andre were great together, their acting was exceptional considering how young they are. And Q's mom, props to the actress that plays her, I really felt for her. It's about time we get an episode that highlights the tragedy of loosing someone so suddenly. I agree with many that Haley really needs to do something more or that her and Nathan do something other than basketball. Poor Nathan, he had it rough at try outs and now on the team. I'm so glad he held back his anger when he looked at the picture of Jamie, although I wouldn't have objected to Nathan decking the guy. It's one thing to talk smack on the court, it's another to personally rip up someone else's belongings. I felt so bad for Nathan, all alone in the hotel room while he talked to his family. I'm sure there were many scenes like this that played itself out while Nathan was in college. As much as basketball is Nathan's dream, I do want to see Nathan do something other than basketball, or at least just him playing ball. Either way, I'm totally loving the drama free Naley this season although I think they need some drama to spice things up (just please no stupid nannies or mislead with an affair). I thought the drama surrounding slam ball was great, considering Nathan's back. I was glad that they actually used drama of substance instead of going soapish like with the Nanny storyline. Anyways, enough of that.

Without further ado, here's the next chapter and please review!

. . . .

Lucas eyed Haley curiously as she stormed off away from him. He knew she was upset but for the life of him he couldn't why she was still upset. He did her the biggest favor and after all, he was the one hurt by all this. He was the one who was lied to all these years. He was the one humiliated on the River Court, sure there were only three people that knew Nathan lost on purpose but to the outside world, they all thought Lucas had won. He had had received so many praises from that night, not only from his friends, but people he never knew. It was all a big lie and now carrying the truth, it humiliated him even more.

Haley stormed off into the library, angry and hurt. She needed quiet and hoped the library would give her that. There were so many emotions going through her, she felt as if she could crack on a moment's notice. She couldn't believe that Nathan would so easily push her aside two years ago but he did. She thought she was special, he made her feel special but in that moment, she felt like just like any ordinary girl. _He_ thought of her as just another girl and that hurt her. She blamed herself for their break up. He was the one that came to her, the one who waited patiently for her to come around. She was a fool to expect him to wait forever. But now, now she knew the truth and that none of it was her fault. It was all his and her heart broke again once more.

She was still trying to process everything Nathan had told her. She couldn't believe what Nathan did to Taylor, worst, she couldn't believe the consequences of his actions. It was an unspoken truth at the James household that her sister Taylor was not right. Haley didn't know about the abortion but wondered if her parents knew. They were never one to divulge much information to Haley except what was necessary. Haley didn't tell Lucas, although he probably suspected, he did know Taylor all these years. He'd suspected that Taylor got into trouble and that her parents, as always would bail her out. As much as Haley wanted to know, she was also glad that her parents weren't trying to burden her. Haley already had enough to deal with. Taylor was always a wild child growing up so to see her using and abusing after high school was unfortunately not a surprise, but now all the pieces were coming together and the undeniable truth was that Nathan Scott had helped fracture her family.

So many times over the years, Haley was left alone while her parents worked, traveled longer, all to pay for Taylor's failed treatment. This meant no money for Haley to go to college, thus leaving Haley with no choice but to be a straight A student, not like she wasn't before. But Haley was growing up and wanted to branch out and although she was a nerd at heart she did just want to fail sometimes, but no she couldn't. The sound of other students snickering around her took her away from her thoughts.

"It's about time Nathan's single again.." A girl with an overly bubbling voice said.

"I know, it took him long enough…"

"But did you see him in the hallway, he looked so broken.. maybe he actually cared for Holly.."

"Isn't her name Hannah?"

"It doesn't matter, Nathan probably forgot her name anyways .. but even if his heart is broken.. I can think of ways to mend his broken heart." Another girl snickered.

"You are so bad .. it's too bad she couldn't hold onto him.. he is so damn fine.."

"I know .. but guys like Nathan.. they never stick around long.."

"I heard he slept her sister.."

"What? NO WAY!! Nathan wouldn't do that …"

"This is Nathan Scott we're talking about."

"It's true .. I heard Lucas talking about it.."

"Oh my God, it must be true.. no wonder she walked down the hall so pissed…"

"Whatever.. I'd still do him." The group of girls started giggling.

Haley slammed her books on the table and then grabbed them and stood.

"SHE!!!" She yelled. "..is right here..Stupid bitches, get a life and stay out of mine!" Haley firmly stated as she stormed off.

_Lucas,_ she said his name to herself in disgust. Sure she hurt him, lied to him but there was a line to his cruelty and Lucas just passed it. If he was really her friend, he would've supported her relationship with Nathan, at least respect it and not bash it. She let a lot of things from Lucas go because her guilt ate away at her, but not anymore. Lucas was no longer reacting from the shock of her and Nathan's failed relationship, no he was retaliating. Her heart broke again by two different reasons by two different people who were more alike than even Haley realized.

. . . .

"Excuse .." Lucas said as he made his way through the crowded hall where other students to enter the class. "Oh.." He said as he bumped into someone familiar.

"You.." Haley glared at him. "Where do you go off telling people he slept with Taylor?!"

"What?" He snapped back. "I didn't tell anyone, except Peyton .. it's not my fault people eavesdrop."

"I told you he didn't sleep with her.."

"Is that what the jerk told you?" He crossed his arms.

"The only jerk right now I see is you .." Haley shook her head, her voice filled with anger and sadness and with that she walked inside class.

. . . .

Lucas walked over by the tables to pick up the basketball that just rolled there. He had been in the River Court now for almost an hour just shooting around. Before coming here, he tossed and turned in bed for a while before finally getting up. Like always, he sought out basketball to clear his head. His mind was so jumbled, he didn't know what to do or think anymore. All he kept thinking about was Nathan, Haley, Nathan and Haley, Dan, growing up while his biological father raised another family while he and his mom suffered.

He picked up the ball and started to dribble again and took another shot from the three point line. The ball hit the rim and bounced off to the grass. Lucas jogged from his spot to get the ball and that's when he noticed him.

"I see your shot still sucks.." Nathan said as he picked up the ball and took a shot. The ball making a "woosh" sound as it easily went inside the basket.

"What're you doing here?" Lucas questioned.

"Funny thing I heard at school.."

"You slept with Taylor and now Haley threw you to the curb.. what else is new?" Lucas said nonchalantly.

Nathan clenched his fists.

"I did not sleep with Taylor.."

"Saying it won't make it true.." Lucas smirked, loving the fact that he could get a rise from Nathan. So many times before, it was Lucas on the receiving end. His smile faded when he thought back to earlier in the afternoon.

. . . .

_"The only jerk right now I see is you .." Haley shook her head, her voice filled with anger and sadness and with that she walked inside class. Lucas stood there for a moment then shook his head as he entered class and took his usual seat. A minute later, their teacher walked in and class started._

_"Michael .. Abigail .. good job.." Mr. Matthews said. "Okay next up.. Lucas Scott.. and Haley James.. Lucas would you like to go first."_

"_Umm yeah sure.."Lucas said as he got up and put the photo against the camera, which was hooked up to a projector that showed the picture off to the whole class. There was a picture of Haley tutoring another student, taken from last year. _

"_So my partner was Haley .. as you can see she's umm very smart.. and loves to help other people out." Lucas said in a monotone voice but when he saw the picture, he started to remember more and more about the Haley he knew, not the Haley that was looking at him right now with such disdain. "She's always been like that.. always there for other people… taking her time out to help other people even if she doesn't know them .. and see there.." He pointed to the picture." She has a small smile and the guys she's tutoring is also smiling.. not many people would consider studying fun but that's Haley, she makes things fun … makes you laugh.. smile.." His voice dropped as memories of her and him together flooded his mind. He shook his head and tried to regain his composure. "So .. yeah.. that's it." He said as he took his seat._

"_Very good Mr. Scott.." Mr. Matthews said. "Haley.. your turn."_

_Haley casually got up and put her picture down and was broadcasted through the projector. A collective gasp could be heard from the room as everyone shifted in their seats. There for all the world to see was a picture of Nathan Scott._

"_Lucas Scott was my partner.." Haley said casually as everyone sat up from their seats, very intent to listen to what she had to say. _

"_Haley.." Mr. Matthews interrupted. "Your partner was Lucas.."_

"_Yes I know that sir.. if you let me continue.."_

"_Okay..fine.." Mr. Matthews stated. Lucas shifted uncomfortably in his seat._

"_As I was saying.. Lucas Scott was my partner… this obviously is not a picture of him but of his _brother_ Nathan Scott.. now.. Lucas has some choice words about Nathan .. jerk being the last thing he said to me about him .. but what Lucas doesn't know is that he and Nathan are more alike than they know.." She narrowed her eyes to Lucas. _

_. . . ._

"Just because you probably tried to hit that didn't mean I did.. I'm saying this again.. I didn't sleep with her.."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself.."

Nathan laughed. "Whatever.. Haley knows what happened.."

"Yet she still dumped you.."

"She didn't dump me.."

"Then what huh?"

"Haley knows the truth.. that's what matters.."

"And what exactly is the truth.."

"That I love her.." Nathan said in an almost desperate voice. "But you.. you took her from me.."

"I didn't do anything that she wasn't going to do eventually."

"You took her away from me.." He said in a firmer voice. "You probably think basketball is the most important thing to me but your wrong.. it's her.. it's her and you turned her against me!" He said the last part angrily. "She's the only one that matters to me.."

"Nathan Scott cares only for himself." Lucas said in a steady voice. "I should know.. and don't give me this crap about loving her.. you never loved her.. I can't believe you stooped so low to use her against me.."

"Do you seriously hear yourself right now?" Nathan asked as he pinned Lucas up against the pole holding the basketball net up. "I've known her since I was little and I've loved her long before I knew you so don't think any of this has anything to do with you.. although all the times she pushed you aside to be with me was just a bonus.."

"Asshole!" Lucas exclaimed as he pushed Nathan back.

"I lost her because of you .. and I swear to God.. I'll make you pay.. if you thought before was bad.. you aint seen nothing yet." Nathan said with a finality in his voice, which left Lucas to wonder what exactly Nathan is capable of doing. Either way, Nathan started to walk away before Lucas can say anything else. Lucas was once again left alone in the Rivercourt, his mind more confused than ever. Despite being his usual jackass self, Lucas noticed the vulnerability in Nathan, something he'd never seen before with Nathan, something he'd seen from people before who's had their hearts broken and who are in love. Could it be that Nathan's feelings for Haley were actually real?

. . . .

Nathan slammed the door behind him and cursed himself at being so stupid. He didn't know why he bothered to see Lucas, he just knew that he had to. He'd heard the rumors at school started by him. But he'd rather have people think he slept with Taylor than the real vicious truth. Nathan was getting desperate, Haley wouldn't talk to him, answer his calls, anything. She completely cut him off and Nathan didn't know what else to do or how much more he can take. All he knew was that he had to have her back. He turned to the only person who he thought could help him but once again Nathan let his emotions get the best of him. As hard as it was to admit it, he knew that Lucas meant a lot to Haley and unfortunately, Lucas maybe his only shot. Nathan knew that he couldn't get her back on his own, that the way back to Haley's heart meant going first through his brother, Lucas Scott.

To Be Continued . . .

Sorry for the short chapter, I just needed to get things set up for next chapter. I hope you enjoyed and please REVIEW!!! I'll try to get the next one out ASAP.


	24. Chapter 24

Winners and Losers

Chapter 24

Thank you for the reviews and sorry for the delay again. This chapter sort of gets the ball moving sort of speak so I'm hoping to update a lot sooner.

I thought last night's episode was good, not great but not terrible either. Some random thoughts, totally digging the Brulian thing, although it sucks that Brooke is taking Peyton's left over's again. They seriously need to get with guys the other girl hasn't been with. Lack of Sam is always good and no Millie and Mouth. I thought it was right for Lucas not to give Keith's ring. It's been passed more times than a basketball. If anything, give it to Lily, that is Keith's daughter. Glad to see Dan got a few scenes, but I would've liked to see some interaction with Dan with Nathan, Haley and Jamie at the end. I mean, didn't they notice him walking out. I figured, Jamie would say something. Speaking of Dan, it was nice to see him compliment Nathan like that, both after the game and at the Rivercourt. It must mean a lot to Nathan after all those years of being bullied by Dan. I thought the quick Naley scene we got at the beginning was nice, with Nathan talking about getting lucky, why not see them get lucky? Please! Even though what Jamie did was sweet (calling the coach), I think it was a bit much. I do share some people's sentiments that Nathan's basketball storyline is a bit repetitive. Also, why not show Haley do more with her music but it was good to see her interacting with the other characters as well. I'm also looking for some hot Naley scenes, come on Mark, let's see some skin !!

I don't know the deal for season 7 but I do hope we get one and that I'll be perfectly fine with it being the last season, as long as Nathan and Haley are there, I'll watch. Without Chad, it might be weird because next to Naley, I like the brother interaction. Also, I don't know how official it is, but no James Lafferty basketball game? Boo!!! I was actually going to try to go this year! Sucks !

K that was a long author's note.. don't forget to check out my other stories.. enjoy and please review!!!

. . . . .

_Nathan stormed inside Haley's house through the back entrance that led into her kitchen. He was a man on a mission and he wasn't going to stop until he succeeded. He needed to see her, needed to talk to her. His need for her only kept growing with each passing second he wasn't with her and it was literally killing him inside. _

"_What.. what're you doing here?" Haley asked surprised but with a hint of anger. He knew she must've still been pissed at him. He didn't blame her though. _

"_We need to talk.."_

"_There's nothing to talk about.." Haley said as she finished gathering her things for school that day._

"_Hales.."_

"_No!" She exclaimed. "Please.. just get out.."_

"_I can't.." He said as he stepped closer to her. He saw her surprised reaction when he stepped closer. He liked that he still had that effect on her, it mean that there was hope._

"_Haley.. please.." He said is a much lower, somber voice. _

"_Fine.. you stay.. I .. I have to go to school.." Haley put the last of her books in her bag and was about to walk away from him but he grabbed onto her wrist._

"_Let me go!" She said in an almost terrified voice._

"_I can't let you go .. I'll never let you go." He said in a more serious tone and his intense gaze went straight through her. He could feel her slightly trembling but he wasn't going to let her go._

"_You're.. you're hurting me.." She mumbled as she tried to free herself from his grasp. He didn't know if she meant physically or emotionally, but he knew that she meant both. He hurt her and in the process hurt himself. He felt sick and disgusted with himself for what he did and worse, he lied about it all these years. But his need for her outweighed and guilt he felt at that moment. All he knew was that she belonged with him and he with her. It was as simple and complicated as that. _

_Instead of letting go, his tightened his grip and moved her up against the counter, her body leaning back towards the edge of the granite top as Nathan towered over her._

"_I'm sorry for hurting you.. for lying to you.."_

"_Stop.."_

"_No.. I love you Haley James.. I love you I love you!" He repeated letting her know that he meant those three little words. _

"_I love you … and I want you .. and I know you want me too." He said cockily._

"_I don't.. I don't want you.." She said almost out of breath. He smirked to himself, seeing Haley's resolve waiver._

"_Liar.." He grinned as he pressed his body up against hers. Her body trembled more now and he knew she was scared, but most of all he knew that she was also anxious. No matter how much he hurt her heart, her body wanted his. Not able to hold himself back any longer, he leaned down and swooped her mouth with his in a fiery kiss. He pressed his lips hard against her, forcing his tongue down her mouth. When he finally pulled back, they were both panting for her. He took a step back to gauge her reaction, her eyes still closed. _

_A moment later, she opened her eyes and looked straight at him, her eyes unreadable. She took a deep breath and ran both of her hands through her hair._

"_Yeah.." She said breathlessly as she practically lunged at him. Her arms instantly wrapped around his neck and her lips crashed into his. Nathan wasted no time in seizing the opportunity as he hoisted her up to the counter, his lips never leaving hers. Eagerly, they tore each other's clothes off, as if both were in a race to see who could be naked first in a contest where both would come out winners. His hands gripped her waist and moved down to her inner thigh, she was already so wet, he almost lost it right there and then. Her hands moved down his bare chest and instantly grabbed onto his erection, pulling it towards her knowing exactly what she wanted._

"_I need you now.." She said in between kisses, leaving no room for argument. He positioned himself in front of her, licking his lips in sweet anticipation. Their lips met once more but quickly pulled away from each other. They both looked at each other confused as water seemed to be flowing down from them. That didn't stop Nathan as he kissed her again, both of them now soaked. He spread her legs further to give him better access and in one fell swoop, he entered inside of her. _

Nathan shook his head as the warm waters continued to stream down his face and through his body. He shook his head, he really was going crazy. Even fully awake, he kept dreaming of her and with each one his heart broke just a little more. It also didn't help that he was suffering from serious Haley withdrawal. He put one hand on the faucet, about to turn up the cold water because just the thought of being intimate with her again had him hard as a rock.

He knew he had to relieve himself or spend another long day adjusting himself and running sports stats in his head in an attempt to not think about Haley. He placed one hand against the bathroom tile, while his other hand gripped his erection. His stroked himself fast and hard, needing to get the edge off as quickly as possible. Images of Haley raced through his mind, giving him exactly what he needed to release himself. A few minutes later, he pumped his hips into his hand as he stroked himself faster and faster. Finally, his release came, his seed flowing down the drain along with the shower water. For a moment he felt satisfaction and relief. But it was just a moment. As he opened his eyes, realty once again set in. He was alone without Haley and he never felt more empty. And just like that, another day with Haley James started.

. . . .

"Oh Haley.. a present for me?" Damien said sarcastically as he swooped the shopping bag from Haley's hand and peaked inside.

Haley rolled her eyes. This is why she hated shopping. "Oh my gosh!.. You're such an ass!" Haley exclaimed as she grabbed her shopping bag back, but not before Damien got a good glimpse as to what was inside.

"I personally love it when my girl shops at Victoria Secret for me.." Damien smirked.

"For starters.. I'm not your girl.."

"Not yet.."

"Please get over yourself.." Haley snared back. She was already in a bad mood and didn't need the added stress. She decided to go to the mall today to return some sexy lingerie. It was supposed to be a little treat for Nathan, but unfortunately she wasn't with him anymore.

"Then what brings you all the way over here?"

"Returning something, duh!" Haley tried to walk away but he just followed her.

"So you came all the way over here.. if memory serves me right.. Westfield Mall is a whole lot closer to Tree Hill than here.."

Haley rolled her eyes. She traveled an extra 30 minutes to go to this mall since she knew that if she went to the one by Tree Hill, she would surely run into people from school, who will undoubtedly stare and gossip about her. She now realized what a mistake that was.

"Whatever.." She mumbled as she continued walking.

"Or were you trying to avoid a certain Scott.." Damien smirked.

Haley stopped and looked straight at him. "What're you talking about?"

"I heard from the grapevine that you were actually going out with Nathan.. I'm sure Lucas loved that.." He chuckled and Haley just rolled her eyes. "I had to admit that when I found out I didn't believe it at first.. but then I heard he also slept with your sister.. that one I didn't have trouble believing.."

"Damien, you don't know what you're talking about.."

"Ohh.. I think I hit a nerve.."

"And I think I'm about to hit your face." Haley shot back.

Damien just laughed. "Look Hales.."

"Haley.." She corrected.

Damien rolled his eyes back. "Ok, look HALEY.. I'm sorry.. obviously this whole topic with Nathan is a sore subject.."

_You can say that again_, Haley though to herself. "Well.. it's not of your business.."

"So you really went out with him.. that's surprising.."

"Look Damien, I don't know what you heard from these losers at school who by the way have nothing else better to do than talk about my life but Nathan and I did go out.. it didn't work out.."

"Why?"

"Why?" Haley shot back. "Look I don't need to explain myself to you.."

"No.. why Nathan? I mean.. he's Lucas' brother.. I thought the two of you hated.."

"I never hated him.." Haley was quick to say.

"So you'd give Nathan a chance but not me.."

Haley was getting a headache, she didn't want to continue this conversation. "Damien, would you just please leave me alone.." She pleaded. Damien looked at her for a moment before nodding. He heard the desperation in her voice that she really didn't want to talk to him about this. He wanted to rile her up as he usually did in the past but the way she seemed now, so lost and broken. It completely took the fun away and any pleasure that Damien might've took from it.

"Alright fine.. I'm here at work already.." Damien stated as he pointed to the athletic store behind her.

"You.. you work here?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah.. why so shocked.. I mean .. don't you still waitress at Karen's?"

"Yeah.. I just.."

"Just what?"

"Nothing.." Haley shook her head and was about to continue walking.

"You figured what would a spoiled brat like me doing with a job?" Damien crossed his arm and Haley just smiled nervously.

"My dad got laid off and living off and he couldn't find work in Tree Hill so we moved out but his new job didn't pay as much so basically .. I needed to get a job if I wanted to do more than just go to school and play basketball.."

"Look, I didn't mean to imply.."

"No, it's okay.. I mean I get it .. I was a bit of a brat.."

"A bit?" Haley smirked.

"Fine.. I was a brat.. still am I guess but I mean I have to pay my dues just like everyone else.."

"School.. basketball and a job.. is Damien West actually grown up?" Haley teased.

"Shhh.. don't go advertising it." He winked at her as he took a step back towards his store.

"And by the way.. the black lace number… NICE." He raised his eyebrows and turned around. Haley stopped and looked at him as he walked away, a small smile forming on her face. It was then that she realized that this was her first genuine smile since her break up with Nathan, something she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

. . . . .

_I'm going to kill Mouth, I'm going to kill Mouth!! _The mantra played itself over Haley's head over and over again. She completely forgot that she had agreed to come and help her friend Marvin (aka Mouth) cover the Raven's game against Pontiac High School. She didn't want to go all the way to Pontiac for starters, second, she wasn't in the mood to see Scott #3 and #23 respectfully (Lucas and Nathan's jersey numbers). She had skillfully avoided both of them at school although they both tried to talk to her. She also gave Karen the heads up that she wasn't going to work either, she had enough to deal with and could go for a week or two of not working. At least then it would give her time to sort out her feelings and thoughts. She also knew that Karen would pressure her into talking and that was something she wasn't up for yet.

She tried to get out of this but Mouth laid the guilt on her and she was forced to say yes.

"_But Haley you promised.." Mouth wined._

"_That was before.. I don't know if you heard.."_

"_Yeah I heard about you and Nathan.. I'm.. I'm sorry.." Mouth gave her a warm smile._

"_Thanks, Mouth, so you can understand why I don't want to go.. and besides Lucas will be there too.."_

"_Haley, I hate to see you guys like this.. I mean you and Lucas are my friends.."_

"_I hate this too Mouth but that's how it is .."_

"_Look I get it and I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't have another choice.. I tried to get Gigi but she was already busy since you agreed to do this before.."_

"_Mouth.."_

"_Haley, please.. you're really going to be helping me out.. is really taking off.. if I increase my hits by 15 percent tonight, I'll actually get some funding from the school and be able to get some advertisers to also off set the cost.. look you know how long I've been doing this for free.. but now to get paid for it.. please Haley.."_

"_Argh.. alright fine.. but you owe me!!" _

But the truth was that there was a small part of her that did want to see Nathan and Lucas, well mostly Nathan because he looked hot in uniform. She might've been hurt by him but he was amazing in bed and her heart and body were currently un-synced with each other. Her heart broke over Nathan but her body still craved him. She was still trying to sort everything out, she has just been so confused and hurt with everything that happened with Nathan as well as Lucas. Avoidance and denial seems to be working for her at the moment. She poured herself into studying and classes, even doing extra chores at home in an attempt to keep herself busy and not think of what happened. She knew everything would catch up to her eventually, but that was still later and this was now.

Mouth turned around and gave Haley thumbs up and Haley offered him a weak smile. She was currently sitting a couple of rows up from him by the stairs with a laptop in tow. She had to keep a certain distance from Mouth to optimize the signal, since they were doing this remotely. She didn't know the mechanics of but just knew that when the signal got low, it was her job to click on the reset key so that way the laptop could bounce of a different network.

"Well.. well.. look what we have here.." Damien smirked as he took a seat next to Haley.

"Damien?.. what.. what're you doing here?"

"Our gym just got repainted so we're playing our game against the Pirates here after the Ravens game.."

"After the ravens game?" Haley asked and realized that she was stuck to this seat because of Mouth.

"Yeap.. and I get to watch them loose with you.." He smirked.

. . . . .

As hard as he tried not to, Nathan kept glancing to the bleachers to look at Haley. They were currently warming up, but Nathan's mind was clearly not on basketball. He could already tell Whitey was getting pissed at him. He was missing the most basic of lay ups and jump shots. So many questions were going through his mind. He was not expecting her to be here at all, she was avoiding him like the plague and the only reason she attended these games was because of him. He looked over at Lucas for a moment and wondered if the two of them were finally friends again. That might be it, he thought to himself but he never saw them together at school. In fact, she seemed to be avoiding Lucas as much as she was avoiding him. It's a bit stalker-ish but even though they were broken up (and he was still using that term loosely), he still kept tabs on her.

"She's doing a favor for Mouth.." Lucas mumbled to him as he passed him by.

"What?" Nathan questioned. To say things between the two of them were tense was an understatement. Whitey was at least grateful that both boys seemed to be purposely distancing themselves from each other. They both knew that Whitey would rip them a new hole if they acted up again. After their last encounter together, a cold, unspoken truce had developed between them. It would only be a matter of time before that fragile peace would come to an end.

"You keep looking at her and missing your shots.. if we lose to this suck ass team it'll be because of you.." Lucas stated.

Nathan ignored the jab, his curiosity far outweighed his need to put Lucas in place.

"What favor?" He asked.

"Mouth broadcasts all the Ravens games online.. Haley is helping him out okay.. so get your head back in the game.."

Nathan nodded, then asked again. "Who the hell is Mouth?"

. . . .

"Okay Ravens.. bring it in.." Whitey called out. All the guys came over and placed their hands in the middle of a circle.

"Pontiac is good but not that good.. stay focused.. and we should have no problems.. starters you know what to do.. okay.. ravens on three.."

"1 2 3 RAVENS!!!" The team called out as the starters including Nathan and Lucas walked out on the court.

Nathan stopped dead in his tracks and Lucas kept walking. When he noticed Nathan wasn't following, he took a few steps back.

"Get your ass out of your head.. tip off is about to start." Lucas stated.

Nathan just gritted his teeth. "What the hell is he doing here?" Lucas' followed Nathan's gaze to see Haley sitting with Damien, the two of them laughing.

"What the hell?" Lucas mumbled to himself, with both brothers finally agreeing to something.

To Be Continued . . . .


	25. Chapter 25

Winners and Losers

Chapter 25

Thank you guys for the review, I knew somewhere along this story, I had to put in a Nathan sex dream/fantasy. I was inspired by episode 100 in season 5 where Lucas was about to marry Lindsey. Anyways, I'm a little disappointed that reviews have dropped the last few chapters. I blame myself and my lack of updates, plus it doesn't help that Naley are on the rocks right now in the story. Like I said before, we're hitting the home stretch, I'm still not sure how many chapters there are left. At this point, I have my general outline but I'm just winging it. If you read any of my author's notes, you know that the last few months have been very hard on me and it's been hard clearing my head to write. I forced myself today to get this done because I have nothing to do today and plus I keep making excuses. I wrote on FF to get away from it all but I sort of been more of a reader than a writer lately. Well, this chapter does not have much Naley in it but I hope you enjoy the Lucas/Nathan interaction, which is part of the fun in this story, well at least for me. If you read some of my other stories, you may remember the same scene, I decided to basically reuse it in this story because it fit in with what I wanted to do. Enjoy and please review !!!

. . . .

Nathan just gritted his teeth. "What the hell is he doing here?" Lucas' followed Nathan's gaze to see Haley sitting with Damien, the two of them laughing.

"What the hell?" Lucas mumbled to himself, with both brothers finally agreeing to something.

"What is she doing with that loser?" Nathan mumbled to himself, not really talking to anyone in particular.

"I can say the same thing when I saw her hanging out with you.." Lucas snorted. Nathan turned around quickly and glared straight at him. Nathan clenched his fist and was ready to deck Lucas, he was already in a pissed off mood.

Michael, another starter on the team, sensed the tension between the two brothers and quickly stepped in between. Another fired, averted as Michael led Nathan towards center court.

. . . .

Haley knew it was a bad idea coming here. For starters, both Lucas and Nathan would be here. They were currently her two least favorite people in the world and then you can add her third. She was completely blind sided when Damien came and sat with her. She could already see the death glares that both Lucas and Nathan were throwing her way. A part of her got even angrier at that.

First there was Lucas, she couldn't believe the nerve of him. She knew she lied to him, knew that she should've told him the truth but one would think after all this time that he would finally just let it go. All those times worrying about his reaction, how she dictated her life around him, for what, for nothing. He cut her off, treated her like crap, called her vicious names, and now here, he was glaring at Damien, as if he cared about her. If he did care, he should've accepted her relationship with Nathan. He was such a hypocrite. He had no right, he lost it the moment he cut her off. It also didn't help that he told people that Nathan slept with Taylor. Nathan had his own crimes to pay for but he was not guilty of that.

Then there was of course, Nathan himself. She was at least thankful that Lucas did tell her something about Nathan and Taylor but when she found out the truth, she sort of wished she hadn't. If she didn't know, her and Nathan would be together right now. But then there was the fact that Nathan was lying to her this whole time and for a moment Haley felt sympathetic towards Lucas. This is what Lucas must've felt like. She was still as confused and hurt as ever and she didn't know what to do to make it end.

As annoying as Damien was, she was at least glad for the distraction and the fact that his presence annoyed both Scott brothers, something that amused Haley greatly. She could tell that Nathan was clearly jealous, but she hated herself for wanting Nathan to be jealous and how incredibly sexy she found him to be at the moment. According to Haley, a jealous Nathan would always be a sexy one.

Damien mostly kept the conversation going, talking about all sorts of random things that Haley wasn't even really paying attention to the game. She realized that Damien wasn't as bad as she thought. Sure, he was the same guy she had always known, but he was a little older now, and slightly more mature. It also helped to know that Damien was also working, going to school and still playing ball at the same time. She knew it must not be easy juggling all that on top of everything else. He still acted like the spoiled rich brat he was when he was younger but he was far from rich anymore. Something like that would devastate most people, embarrass them, their fall from grace. But Damien seemed to take his family's finance problems with stride and still keep his confidence, something that appealed to Haley. It must've been the fact that there was another dark haired boy she knew with as much, if not more confidence than the person she was sitting next to.

She laughed again at another stupid joke he told, but she had to admit, seeing Nathan's face, full of rage, anger and jealousy, it was all worth it. Haley knew she was having far too much fun with this and she should stop and stop soon.

. . . . .

It was already half time and the Ravens had a slim slid.

"You two!!" Whitey yelled at the Scott brothers. "Get your head out of your asses!!"

Whitey shook his head in frustration. "We're leading by four when we should be triple that amount.. now I want you guys.. all you guys to get out there and play as if you want to win .. if not I'll find other players who do !!" Whitey stormed off as the team got up and walked back into court.

Nathan stepped back onto the court and tried to clear his mind of the pretty brown eyed girl sitting next to and laughing with someone Nathan clearly disdained. So he did what he could, he looked away and tried to block it from his mind. For a little bit, it worked and Nathan was on fire for most of the third quarter. But then he stopped and looked and the bastard had his hand on her thighs and Nathan clenched his fists tighter. Damien saw the death glare Nathan was throwing at him and gave him a quick smirk before going back and talking to Haley.

Seizing an opportunity, Nathan stood right by Damien.

"PASS!! PASS!!" Nathan called out as he raised his hands. Lucas hurled the ball at him, but Nathan simply stepped away, allowing the ball to hit Damien's legs.

"What the fuck!?" Damien cried out as he stood up. He looked down and saw Nathan smirking at him.

"Opps.. sorry.." Nathan said sarcastically but his smirk faded when he saw the death glare Haley was giving him. Meanwhile, Whitey was having a fit and yelling at his players.

"Nice going jackass.." Lucas muttered to Nathan as he walked pass him.

"Why don't you mind your fucking business.."

"Haley is my business.." Lucas said defensively.

"Ha.. since when .. last time I checked you bailed on her as soon as you found out about us.."

"In case you forgot.. she dumped your sorry ass.." Lucas stepped in front of Nathan's face.

"Don't feel mad cuz she wanted me to tap that instead of you .." Nathan stated while Lucas inwardly cringed at the thought of wanting to sleep with Haley. "And speaking of which .. it's only a matter of time before we're back together to make up .. and then _make up_ some more.." Nathan smirked but Lucas had enough and lunged at Nathan. Pretty soon, a full on brawl ensued.

"You two!!!" The ref called out. ".. you're out of the game!!"

"But they're on the same team!!!" Whitey called out as he threw his clipboard to the ground.

. . . .

"That was an interesting game.." Damien said as he got up from his seat. The Ravens just won but after getting kicked out of the game, Lucas and Nathan were sent to the locker rooms to cool down.

"Yeah.." Haley said nervously. "I'm.. I'm sorry about earlier … with Nathan.."

"Nah don't sweat it .. no big deal.. I mean I'd probably act the same way if I saw some hot handsome guy talking to my ex.." Damien smirked and Haley gave him a small genuine smile.

"Right .. I'll be seeing you.." Haley said as she was about to get up.

"This Friday.."

"Huh?"

"This Friday.. that's when I'll see you.."

"Damien.. I .."

"Haley, come on one date.. please.."

Haley hesitated for a moment. She didn't know how to respond and just then she saw Lucas and Nathan walking out from the back to join their team as they prepared to leave. Nathan and Haley locked eyes for a moment and just as quickly she looked away. Damien turned to see who she was looking at and also gave Nathan a look.

"I'm sorry Damien.. I can't.. I'm. . I'm sorry.."

"No… it's cool.. I get it .. I guess I'll be seeing you Haley.." Damien said as he leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Nathan saw the whole thing and it took everything in him not to go up to him and beat the living crap out of Damien.

Damien pulled back and started to walk towards his teammates who were gathering by the bench.

"Damien.." Haley called out and Nathan stopped in his tracks to try to hear what was going on.

"I'm busy this weekend.. maybe.. maybe some other time.."

Damien just smiled and nodded, trying his best to hold back his excitement. "It's a date.." He winked at her and continued to walk away.

Haley turned around and saw Nathan still looking at her, his face full of anger, jealousy and hurt. She needed to get away from him and she quickly bolted for the nearest exit.

. . . .

"You two on your feet!" Whitey called out on the school bus and Nathan and Lucas both stood up.

"Now I don't care what issues you have with your daddy or you girlfriends.. you can hate each other to hell for all I care but if you're on my team..you'll play by my rules..."

"I don't think that's going to happen.." Lucas mumbled.

"Well lucky for you, you have about a 20 mile walk to think about it." Whitey snickered.

"But coach…" They both tried to plead but it was no use as they were thrown out of the school bus with only the clothes on their back and the dust that flew up as the school bus drove away.

"Thanks a lot, my cell phone is on that bus." Nathan glared and started walking as soon as the bus was out of site.

"So is mine.. God.. this is all your fault."

"My fault?!"

"If somebody didn't wasn't so jealous..."

"Maybe if someone knew how to keep their mouth shut.." Nathan cut him off.

"I could say the same thing!"

"We could've lost thanks to you!"

"To me.. you were hogging.."

"Yeah and I was scoring.."

"During the game or you trying to score with a certain girl talking to Damien West."

Nathan glared and it took everything inside of him not to pound Lucas to the ground. Instead, he continued walking in silence. Lucas knew he hit a chord and when Nathan didn't say anything. Lucas wondered for a moment if maybe he did go too far. He tried to walk it off but then from behind them he heard a car coming up with music blaring. Lucas recognized some of the guys in the car as being from the school they just played. They pulled over and opened the door, "Need a ride?" Somebody inside asked.

"Yeah, that'd be awesome." Nathan said.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Nathan."

"Whatever." Nathan walked over to the door and a hand grabbed him inside and the car immediately took off. Lucas was now suddenly very worried.

. . . . .

Lucas watched the car drive down the road and pulled into a rest stop about half a mile down the road. Lucas ran over to them and hoped that Nathan was okay. He arrived a couple of minutes later and was happy to see that the car was still there along with three passengers, but no sign of Nathan. He looked up into the store and saw Nathan in his boxers with the words "Raven Sucks" across his back. Just great, he thought. He made his way inside through the back entrance and saw that everyone was staring at Nathan, especially the ladies. He walked up behind Nathan and mumbled.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting hemorrhoid ointment and then beer."

"What? Beer?"

"Would you card me like this?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Those idiots out there .. they took my clothes and they claim to have a gun, though I don't know if they're just bluffing."

"Well, whatever we have to get you out of here before someone calls the cops." With that Lucas grabbed Nathan's arm and dragged him outside. They went out through the back so that the three stoogies wouldn't see them. Lucas removed his "Dan Scott" sweatshirt and the warm-up bottoms he had on and handed it to Nathan.

"Thanks." Nathan said a little awkwardly. "Are you going to be ok?" He asked considering that Lucas was just wearing a long sleeve t shirt and basketball shorts.

"Yeah, well since I had to run my ass over to save you, I'll be ok.. now who were those jerks?"

"Just some losers who feel bad that they lost tonight."

"Explains that 'Ravens suck' sign you have on your back… let's just go."

"Wait, not yet." Nathan commented as he peaked through the corner and saw that the three guys got out of their car and were looking for him. "Come on, I got an idea."

Lucas and Nathan around the back and into the front, careful not to be seen. Following Nathan's lead, Lucas picked up some stray glass of a broken bottle and worked on the tires. One of the guys spotted them and started to run back to the car and Lucas and Nathan immediately took off. The two laughed as they watched them get into the car, only to realize that they had a flat on all four tires. They took off in the night and ran away until they were out of sight.

"You being a jerk finally paid off.. but what're we going to do now?" Lucas asked.

"Well, before we took off I saw this on the front seat." Nathan said taking out a wallet.

"Sweet." Lucas smiled.

"Crap."

"What happened?"

"This broke ass only has $15 and some change here."

"Change is good, there's a payphone here, we can call for a ride."

"Thank God."

They started calling their friends but no one picked up their phone. They made sure to hang up before they lost their money.

"Forget this, there's enough change to call 411 and get a taxi.. the school is a lot closer from here and that's where my car is parked." Lucas said.

"Fine do it." After 10 minutes, a taxi came and dropped the two boys shy of 3 miles away from Tree Hill High.

They walked in silence until Nathan started chuckling to himself.

"What's so funny?" Lucas asked.

"They call themselves, Thing, Thing 1 and Thing 3?"

"Thing 3?"

"Haha.. cuz the last one was the third one.. what a bunch of morons." They laughed as they recounted the look on their faces when they saw them and that the tires had been slashed.

"You know, you didn't have to come get me .. Thanks." Nathan said the last part hesitantly.

"Yeah, well we still need you if we're going to make it to the play offs.. so technically I did this for team."

"Haha.. you're a real saint .. crap I almost for about that."

"What?"

"The game… my dad is going to flip." Nathan quickly shut his mouth up. He didn't want to bring up the topic of his dad.. their dad. Dan was still in the hospital but he finally woke up. He hadn't spoken to him directly yet but according to his mom, he wasn't asking how his son was doing but rather how his last game went. Typical Dan Scott, bull shit, Nathan thought to himself.

"Why, we won?"

"Not that.. how I got kicked out .. I can hear him now talking about how it's going to lower my point average and how scouts don't like a player with a short temper."

"He's that bad?"

"Worse.."

"Yeah.. I've seen him before at games.. he gets more into it than Whitey sometimes.. the guy needs to relax sometimes.. he looks like he's going have a heart attack or something if his precious son doesn't score.."

Nathan inwardly cringed at the statement. Lucas also felt a little weird, there was the fact that him and Nathan were actually speaking but that they were both talking about their father.

"I remember this one summer.." Nathan said softly. "I was playing little league baseball and I was the pitcher and my dad was the coach. Anyway, this kid Billy Lyons, he was a great hitter. Everything he hit was a homerun. So, you know, he got up to the plate and there was nobody on base so I just walked him. Four straight pitches, nothing even close to a strike. So my dad calls a timeout, comes to the mound, and I'm thinking he's gonna say like, Smart move or Good thinking son, something like that. But instead... instead he grabs me by the arm, and he kicks me in the ass as hard as he can. I mean, he literally took me by the arm so that I wouldn't like, go flying, he kicked me so hard. Then he brought Stevie Planking into pitch, sat me on the bench, never mentioned it again."

"That sucks."

"Yeah… so just think about that the next time you're feeling sorry for yourself… be glad he didn't raise you."

Did he just acknowledge that they were related? Lucas pondered. More importantly, was Nathan envious that Dan didn't raise him as his son. With the story Nathan just told him, he started to think that it might be the case.

"Well you get to live at a nice big ass with everything you wanted while my mom worked her ass off to scrape us by.." Lucas said with a tinge of bitterness.

"At least your mom was there.." Nathan mumbled. ".. and you didn't have an overbearing dad.. and most of all you had Haley so don't give me that whole poor child routine on me.." Now it was Nathan's turn to sound bitter. With the mention of Haley's name, Lucas couldn't help but wonder about their relationship.

"So this thing with Haley.."

"It wasn't a _thing_.. we were in love.. are in love .." Nathan sighed.

"You really have feelings for her?!" Lucas looked at him confused.

"I say love is a pretty strong feeling, dumbass.." Nathan shook his head. He didn't even know why he bothered. Lucas just thinks that he used Haley to stick it to him.

"What.. what happened?" Lucas' curiosity was peaked.

"You happened .." Nathan growled back at Lucas but realized it was useless, this was all his fault anyways. Nathan shook his head. "I.. I fucked up.."

"No surprise there.." Lucas snorted and just like that Nathan's fist collided with Lucas' face.

"What the fuck!!" Lucas said getting up, ready to hurl himself at Nathan.

"That's for telling everyone I slept with Taylor.."

Lucas looked at him with an odd look, maybe it was time to get some things straightened out. "What.. what happened with Taylor?"

Nathan sighed again and shook his head as he gave Lucas a quick version of what happened that night, of how he talked Taylor into having an abortion. "So when I saw her the next day.. she … she already took care of it."

Lucas looked at Nathan stunned, that was the last thing he expected to happen. "I .. I knew she had problems.. thought she was always a wild child .. but I .." Lucas shook his head but then started to remember all those times Haley's parents had to leave to take care of Taylor. Haley never mentioned it much and he knew it must've been a sore topic so he never pushed the issue. He knew how Taylor was growing up so seeing her screw up as an adult didn't surprise him that much. Haley didn't mention it but he knew she felt abandoned sometimes when her parents weren't around, especially since she was stuck in that big house all by herself. That's why he brought her over to his house to hangout and that's how Karen became like a second mother to Haley. _Haley.._ Lucas thought to himself. Now it was his turn to punch Nathan.

Nathan stumbled to the ground but quickly got up.

"I deserved that.."

"You're damn right!! No wonder she dumped your sorry ass .. and now .. now thanks to you … she's hanging out with Damien West.."

"Don't.. don't remind me.." Nathan shook his head, he could already feel his jealousy bubbling to the surface.

"She traded one jack ass for another.." Lucas shook his head.

"As if you care.." Nathan pushed Lucas back. "I know my part in all this but don't think you're a saint either.. Haley gave up so much for you. . so worried about you that she put her own needs before hurting her precious Lucas to the point that it nearly broke her.. do you know how worried she was .. how she lost so much sleep over you.. wondering how you were going to react when she told you about us…"

"Don't you .."

"NO!! Don't you!" Nathan exclaimed back. "I screwed up yes… but you're supposed to be her best friend… you abandoned her and treated her like crap .. fine your mad but get over it .. don't give me this Damien West crap as if you cared.. if you cared you would've been there for her!!" Nathan practically shouted at Lucas, leaving Lucas with out a doubt that he truly loved that girl and the guilt of his actions suddenly started to weigh him down.

"Of all the people for her to be friends with.. I hated it that it was you.." Nathan mumbled.

"Of all the people for her to fall in love.. I hate that it was you.." Lucas shot back and looked Nathan straight in the eyes. "We .. we both fucked up.." Lucas said softly.

"Yeah.. yeah we did.." Nathan let out another sigh.

"She'll.. she'll never forgive us.." Lucas shook his head.

"I hate to admit this but for once.. you might actually be right.." Nathan mumbled as the two lone figures walked in silence, into the darkness and into the night, where their futures with a certain Haley James still seems uncertain.

To Be Continued . . . .

They'll be some direct Naley interaction next chapter. Please Review!!!


	26. Chapter 26

Winners and Losers

Chapter 26

Thank you guys for the reviews. I loved reading them all. All I have to say is that there will be more Nathan/Lucas interaction. I don't want to say too much but I personally love this chapter, I hope you will too. I see many people review this story but where are the rest of you!? I hope I haven't lost too many readers. I stayed up really late to get this upload, so lease let me know what you think and please review!! hehe

. . . .

As soon as Haley left the gym, her heart was still beating wildly. She tried to shake it off and tried to get a grip. Did she just actually agree to go out with Damien West? As she replayed the last few minutes in her mind, she did. She couldn't believe she did that, but worst Nathan had to hear it. She was still mad at him and hurt by what he'd done. To say she was over him would be a lie. She still loved him and missed him but that didn't mean she was ready to take him back, if she ever wanted him back.

She knew Nathan was there, knew that he was watching her and Damien intently. She hated to admit it but she found his jealousy completely attractive. What made it worse was that it was during a basketball game, where he was running and sweating, his muscles flexing with each move. She shook her head, no this isn't what she wanted. The truth was that she wanted him hurting too and maybe that's why she agreed to a date with Damien, well not really, but she did leave the door of opportunity wide open.

She quickly made her way through the crowd and handed Mouth back his equipment and then headed to the school busses heading back to Tree Hill. She went straight to the back avoiding any contact with anyone. She took a seat by herself and closed her eyes, trying her best to get Nathan out of her mind, something that she knew all too well would turn out to be useless.

. . . .

Nathan stepped into his house and stripped out his clothes and headed straight to the shower. When he got out, he headed to bed, completely exhausted yet completely restless. The night replayed itself out in his mind and he couldn't believe what happened. First there was Haley, he hadn't expected her to be there. Worst, he didn't expect Damien West either. He wanted nothing more than to go over there and rip the smug smirk he had on his face. He hated seeing them together, in fact he hated seeing Haley talk to any other member of the male species that wasn't him. He hated that she laughed at his jokes, that she smiled at him. All of that, all of her was supposed to be his, at least that's show it should be.

He couldn't believe how bad the whole situation is. She had actually agreed to go out with Damien. She was already ready to move on. She was over him, over them and that made him sick to his stomach and made him break out in a cold sweat. He knew that if the truth with Taylor ever came out that it would bite him in the ass but this was worst than anything he could've imagined. He knew he should've told her sooner but the fear of her reaction held him back and for good reason. He knew he would lose her and that's exactly what happened.

He knew what he did with Taylor was plain out wrong but he couldn't help it. At the time, he was so confused and hurt that he wanted to inflict the same pain onto others and with Taylor being there, she was an easy target. He was angry at himself, angry at Haley for choosing Lucas yet again and Taylor happened to be there to take the brunt of his anger. The more he thought about it, the worst he felt. He couldn't blame Haley for being mad at him. Because of him, he put her and her family through so much. Haley was the youngest child out of a large family, he knew she must've fought to get attention but she's the only one still home yet she's still neglected. He knew first hand what it felt like to feel alone, it's how he felt most of his life, except of course when he was with Haley. Absentee parents were nothing new to Nathan. He felt abandoned by his mother, who constantly left him for work and left him at the mercy of his overbearing father.

His dad, God that was another mess he had to deal with. He was still in the hospital but leave it to him to be more concerned with his basketball career than how Nathan felt. He couldn't believe the nerve of him. He has a heart attack and all he wants to know is how well the team is doing. To make matters worst, he still had to get tested to see if he had HCM, more importantly so did Lucas.

Lucas, the whole situation with him tonight was just plain weird and the night with his _half brother _replayed itself over his head. They still fought and made jabs at each other but the tone tonight was very different. He couldn't believe he told him what happened with Taylor, how he felt about his parents. There was only one other person he confided in like that and unfortunately for him, she was currently not speaking to him and taking date requests from Damien West. Nathan sighed to himself, everything was a mess and he had to make things right. He had to.

. . . . .

After cleaning himself up and tossing the napkins away, Nathan continued to lie awake on his bed, his hands behind his head as he stared aimlessly into the ceiling. He should probably put a painting or something up there since he keeps staring at it. He heard some noises but dismissed it as the wind rustling up some leaves and branches outside. When he heard his door creek open, he knew that something was definitely up. Shooting up from bed, he couldn't be more right. There in front of him, with the moon shining on her beautiful face was his girl, _the girl,_ Haley.

He looked at her for a moment, too stunned at first to speak, a feeling of déjà vu came over him as he remembered the first time Haley showed up to his room in the middle of the night.

"Haley?"

"I see you still keep your spare key underneath the flower plot.." Haley said softly as she stepped closer into the room. Nathan took a minute to study her, she was dressed in PJ bottoms and a Tree Hill sweat shirt. It was clear that she just rolled out of bed but she never looked more beautiful.

"I also see your parents are still out of town.." Haley mumbled, trying to make small talk. He knew she was nervous, the way her voice cracked and how she avoided eye contact with him. She was stalling, not that he minded, it meant that she would be here longer but he had to know why she was here.

"Haley.. what.. what're you doing here?" He asked softly.

"I don't know.." She said honestly and looked up at him. She couldn't sleep tonight as all her thoughts were focused in on Nathan and what happened earlier during the game. "I .. I wanted to hurt you.." She reluctantly admitted.

Nathan didn't answer but just raised his eyebrows, his eyes pleading for her to explain.

"Damien.." She said softly and he instantly tensed up. "I .. I wasn't really going to go out with him…"

"You .. you did that to hurt me?" Nathan asked in a calm voice.

"Yes.." She said barely above a whisper.

"It worked.." He also whispered and nodded his head. "Why.. why are you telling me this?" He asked as he tried to get his emotions in check. She clearly wanted him jealous, clearly wanted to make him suffer and as much as it sucked, it meant that she still loved him and perhaps, there was hope after all for them.

"I .. I .. don't want to play games .. a part of me said yes because I saw you watching us and I knew you would hear me .."

"And the other part?"

"Was a little curious.." She quickly answered, not wanting to give his hopes up. "I want to be honest with you.." She sighed, hoping that her admission would free her of her guilt. She knew she didn't owe him anything but the part of her heart that Nathan held, a big part at that, felt otherwise. "I don't want to pretend that we didn't happen or that we didn't have good times.."

"We did .." He quickly said.

"Yeah.." She nodded. "Like I said.. I don't want to pretend that none of that happened nor do I want to pretend that I'm alright because I'm not.."

With her admission, Nathan winced a little, knowing it was him that was hurting Haley.

"But I'm going to get better.." Haley said. "I will get better.." She said more firm.

Nathan continued to eye her curiously from his bed.

"I don't want you jumping to conclusions when I do eventually start to date again.. whether it be with Damien or someone else.."

"NO!" Nathan quickly shook his head. The thought of her with Damien or any other guy was making him sick and the fact that those hurtful words were coming from her delicious mouth made it even worse.

"I'm going to move on Nathan.. we're over.. we .. we had our chance.. it didn't work out.." Haley said quickly.

Nathan continued shaking his head. This was not what he wanted to hear.

"Don't say that.." Nathan said bitterly.

"It's the truth .. I wanted you to know even though you don't deserve it.. there have been far too many secrets between us and I just want it to stop, all the lies, all the games cuz in the end .. we all lose .."

"Don't talk as if we're over.." Nathan said sadly.

"I'm sorry Nathan but we are.." She tried to stay firm. "I know things ended badly between us .. I guess I came here to tell you all this so that way I can finally say goodbye to you.. without the screaming or the fighting .."

"Don't.." Nathan warned. "You don't come to my house at fucking 2 am in the morning to tell me goodbye .. you came here for something Haley and ..." Nathan said strongly as he tried to control his frustration.

"Nathan .. please.. don't make this any harder than it has to be.." Haley was quick to cut him off.

All of Nathan's anger, rage and desire started to bubble to the surface. There was no way he was going to let Haley slip out of his fingers no way. She may have came here to put a resolution to their break up but he wasn't going to let her. He loved her, he wanted her and he had to remind her that she still felt the same way.

"Please.. Hales.." Nathan said with a smirk. "It's already hard.." Nathan pulled the covers off him and stood up. Haley inwardly gasped as she took in the sight of him. She already knew he was shirtless but did not expect him to be completely nude, and completely aroused.

"Nathan!!" She tried to look away.

"What?" Nathan tried to sound innocent. "It's not like you haven't seen it before .. or touched it .. or licked it .." He taunted.

"STOP!!" Haley screamed.

Looking up at him, "So.. who was she?" Now it was her turn to sound bitter. All the stories of Nathan Scott being a player came running back into her head. As much as she hated to admit it, she suddenly felt very insecure and hurt that he had already taken his bed up with someone else. Why else would he be on his bed naked, she reasoned.

"Who?"

"The girl you obviously fucked with before I came here.." She gritted her teeth.

Nathan smirked to himself. She was jealous and he knew that it was still there, the fire and passion that was between them. It never left and he prayed it never would.

"No one was here Haley.." He said firmly. "I was thinking about you tonight, like I always do …" He shrugged casually. ".. and .. and the boxers got in the way of the my hands.." He licked his lips and nodded to the near empty box of tissues by his nightstand. He looked at her intently, trying to gauge her reaction.

Haley hated the fact that she was incredibly turned on by him and the fact that he had pleasured himself thinking of her didn't help much either. He saw her face becoming flush and he knew he was getting to her. He took a step closer to her but she took a step back. He knew her mind was saying no but Haley's body had always been screaming yes to him.

"Don't!" She pleaded.

"You may have come here to say _goodbye_.." He mocked, ".. but we both know why you're here.." He walked closer to her but she took a step back until her back was against the door.

"I .. I was hurt tonight Hales.. but I know what I did to you was far worst.." His face softened but she looked at him as if she was scared, which she was. She was scared of the feelings she felt whenever she was near him because it was then that she lost herself and she didn't want to lose control, not after what he did.

"I know saying sorry might not mean anything to you right now.. but I am .." His face got more serious.

"I'm sorry and I promise that I'm make this up to you Hales.."

"I don't think I can ever forgive you for what you did.." She said, her lips quivering and Nathan tried his best to not let the words affect him.

"There's no more us.. so.. so what's the point.." She said nervously and she hated how she could practically feel Nathan's breath on her.

"The point is that I love you.." He said honestly. "And you love me too.."

"I .. I don't .. not .. not anymore.." The words came out but even she couldn't believe it herself.

Nathan just smirked at her. "Liar.." He said quickly as his lips crashed onto hers.

He poured everything into that kiss, all the hurt, pain, anger, frustration, and love he had. His hands rested above her head against the door as he pressed his body against hers. Haley clutched his chest and tried her best to push him off. Their lips parted for a moment and their eyes locked. Brown met blue and he crashed his lips back onto hers. She continued in vain to push away, but Nathan wasn't budging.

"Just go with it.." He mumbled against her mouth.

Haley hated how good it felt to have his lips back on hers, how her hands grazed against his hardened nipples. For a moment, she succumbed to her needs as she kissed him back and instead of pushing him away, she let her hands rest against his chest, touching him, feeling his rapid heartbeat. Summoning her last bit of strength she pulled her lips back and pushed him back further. Nathan finally released her mouth.

"No!!" She pleaded. She shook her head. "I .. I have to go.."

"You're not going anywhere.." Nathan said firmly as his hands cupped her face and forced her to look at him.

"Please.." She begged. "I.. I don't want this.."

"I would let you go if I knew that it was what you really wanted." He firmly as he pressed his lips back onto her, kissing her with more passion than before. His hand went down her cheeks and down her side, before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her even closer. With that, her last defenses came crumbling down as she kissed him back with just as much passion. Her hands, instead of pushing him away, grabbed onto him, feeling the muscles along his back before raking her fingers through his dark hair.

He lifted her up in his arms and she instantly wrapped her legs around his waist. Carrying her over to his bed, he gently set her down, their lips parting for a moment so that Nathan could take off her sweat shirt and tanktop. Her bottom soon came off and a moment later she was just as nude as he was.

His arousal pressed up against her stomach and she had to rub her thighs together to control her throbbing. Nathan continued to kiss his, from her lips down her neck and then taking each one of her breasts in his mouth. He took her hands in his and held it above her head.

"Nathan.." She gasped. "Please.." She begged.

"Tell me what you want.." He said against her ear as he nibbled on her ear lobe.

"I hate you.." She said straight to him. "but God I need you now!!" She commanded.

As soon as the words, came out of her mouth, he instantly plowed into her. She moaned in pleasure and Nathan was glad that the house was empty as her screams of pleasure reverberated through the halls. Not skipping a beat, he increased his pace with each thrust, her mouth opening, forming a perfect O. It didn't take long for her to go over the edge as she screamed out his name. He almost went over too but was actually thankful to get the _edge _off before she arrived. Stamina and endurance was something Nathan prided himself on.

Nathan was still buried within her but rested his weight on his elbows, as he gave Haley a moment to come down from her eye. Her breathing was heavy and she opened her eyes to see Nathan's handsome face looking straight down at her. She was about to say something, but Nathan wouldn't let her as he slowly started to sway his hips. Haley gasped once more as her body warmed up again by the feel of Nathan pressing up against her buddle of nerves. She knew that they should stop, that this had gone too far but the deed was already done and the repercussions of that she would have to face, but not now. For now at least, she could give into it and replace the pain in her heart with the pleasure radiating from her body. She could analyze this to death later but not now, definitely not now.

His pace was slow and Haley realized it was too slow. She tried to grind herself into him but Nathan pulled back. He was clearly making it known that it was he in the driver seat. He knew she wanted him to go faster but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction, at least not yet. It had felt like so long since the last time he was with her and was going to savor each and every minute of it.

"Faster.." She begged as she squirmed underneath him. Nathan smirked to himself as he kissed her once more. Then, holding her firmly, he flipped them over so now Haley was on top. He leaned up against the pillows and dashboard as Haley rested against him. Never breaking contact, his hands rested on her hips and he stopped his own hips from moving. Needing to get off, Haley started to grind her body against him. If she wanted it, she was going to have to work for it herself.

Lifting herself up from his body, Haley rested her hands on his chest and should as she sat straight up, her head leaning back as she started grind as fast and hard as she can against Nathan. It was Nathan's turn to gasp at the sight of his girl riding him and the pleasure he felt was nothing he had ever experienced before. It didn't take long before his own need to get off took over and he gripped her hips tighter and started to pump into her, their bodies synching in movement with each other. Moments later, they grinded into each other faster and faster until their bodies couldn't take anymore, a tidal wave of pleasure washing over both of them. Haley collapsed onto him as Nathan's hips spasmed forward, releasing the last bits of himself into her.

They lied there for a moment while they caught their breaths. Haley was too numbed by pleasure to do anything as Nathan stroked his fingers through her hair. Cupping her face, he brought her back into another kiss and Haley once again started to feel him harden against her. She knew what Nathan was capable of and knew that this night would be far from over. They made love several more times that night, going at it for another three rounds before shear exhaustion had finally won out.

Nathan didn't know how he got the strength to keep going, especially after the game and the long walk home but he didn't care. Haley had already fallen asleep, safely wrapped in Nathan's arms. Nathan fought sleep for as long as he could, wanting to savor as much of this moment. He loved making love to her, loved hearing her scream her name in pleasure, loved releasing himself into her, onto her, but it was the simple and quiet moments like these when it was just the two of them, with Haley sleeping against him that he cherished the most. In the darkness and comfortable silence, all he heard was her low breathing and the feel of her warm body against his. In moments like these, the world was no longer as messed up as he knew it was and for a brief moment it all was right. The moment didn't last long as sleep overcame Nathan and when he woke up, he was once again alone, with the memories of last night with Haley only haunting him.

. . . .

The next morning, Nathan woke up and even the cold shower he took that morning wasn't enough to relieve him of the memories of last night. He woke up and Haley was gone. He may have had her body, but her heart, her heart was still broken and he had to wonder if he could ever fix it or if someone like Damien West would come along and fix it for her.

Walking into school, he headed straight to Brooke's locker.

"Geez, what's wrong with you?" Brooke asked.

"You're job was to get Lucas and Haley to be friends again.. what happened?!" He said bluntly, he was in no mood for small talk. As much as he wanted to stay home and do nothing, he still had to worry about the other problems he had going on, one of which being Lucas.

"Well I assumed that since you and Haley broke up.."

"We're not broken up!" He said defensively. Brooke knew well enough not to press any buttons.

"Okay.. fine but I just thought.."

"You thought wrong.. just cuz me and Haley are going through a rough patch doesn't change anything.."

"But Nathan…"

"No buts.. I sent over your sketches and if you want your chance at Rogue Vogue then you'll keep your end of the bargain.. do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal.." Brooke glared at Nathan before slamming her locker shut and walking away.

Nathan shook his head, maybe it was time to take matters into his own hands.

. . . .

Lucas was tired and wondered why he decided to walk home after school. Last night with the whole thing with Nathan and Haley and now Damien was totally weird. The night replayed itself over and he couldn't believe that he and Nathan actually talked. He was so confused by everything and worst of all, he felt extremely guilty over what he did to Haley. He didn't have time to think though as a dark van pulled right up near him.

The doors open and Nathan and a couple of the guys from the team came out. Not again, Lucas thought to himself as two guys grabbed him and held him still.

"Nathan, what the fuck!?"

"Guys.. put him in the van… Lucas.. you're coming with me.."

"The hell? You're going to dump me in another field.."

"No.." Nathan said firmly. "Not this time.."

The two guys dragged a kicking and screaming Lucas inside. Everyone went inside and with that they were off.

To Be Continued . . . .

If the ending was vague for you, that's how I wanted it. Next chapter you'll get to see what happened during school as well as some other surprises.


	27. Chapter 27

Winners and Losers

Chapter 27

Thank you all for the reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed the Naley. The number of reviews I've gotten isn't as high as it used to be, hopefully you guys like this and please leave a comment. I know you all want Haley to forgive Nathan already but remember that she is young too and is scared about getting hurt. You'll get a little more insight into Haley in

this chapter. Warning for sexual and mature content!!

Just a quick word about last night's episode. I thought it was hilarious seeing the actor characters trying to imitate the real characters. The Naley scene in the beginning was cute, but it sucks that Nathan is gone for two weeks. I'm glad that we got to see everyone in this episode and nice that we saw more of Haley, it takes Bethany to direct for her to finally get some more screen time. I'm glad to see her starting some trouble with the new principal, I almost forgot she was a teacher. Her career is actually the most believable one and it's good to see some of the fire that Haley has. Sucks for Nathan to be in that position but he has to do what he has to do. I really like his coach, he's a good guy but I hope Nathan does well or he might be gone too. Jamie's playdate thing was random but funny. When he was pouting and mad, it was great, too cute. Dan was great too with his scenes with Jamie. I liked Brooke last night but Mark, I get it, Brooke is the most amazing person ever, gag. The Leyton was okay, I still don't see asmuch fire in them as I did with Brucas but whatever, I'm over it. Totally loved the brulian though. I just found it weird that with all the Nathan's there, they had to pick some scrawny guy, I mean did they look at the other people. I loved what Dixon/Dawson said about how even when Nathan is mean, he's still likeable. It sucks that we're not getting another new episode until next month!!!! BOO!!! I'm thinking they will do a 2 week jump with Nathan coming back from bball. Although I'm happy that there isn't no drama with Naley, can we spice it up a little bit, I'm pretty sure that after two weeks apart Naley cant keep their hands off each other. But I'm worried that his maybe the last season. No word has been reached on season 7 and I'm getting nervous, but then again it is a little early. I hope there is and I am perfectly happy with season 7 being the last one. All I know is that I can't live knowing that in May, OTH will be done .. FOREVER!! Please one more season!! But on a side note, I don't care who leaves the show just as long as we have Naley, I'm totally game.

Newaiz, the beginning starts with Haley the morning she left Nathan and then goes through the day and then Nathan grabbing Lucas.. sorry for any spelling/grammar I did my best to proofread.. enjoy and please review!!

. . . .

Haley's eyes fluttered and for a moment and she was confused and dazed as to where she was. Letting her eyes adjust to the light coming from outside, the previous night's events came flooding back to her. There was the game and Damien and her impromptu visit to Nathan's house. _Nathan_, her mind raced when she thought about him and putting two and two together, she looked down to see his arm over her waist, keeping her close to him. She shifted as gently as she could as to not wake him up. Then again, she was surprised she was awake herself. They went at it so many times last night or rather earlier this morning that she lost count. Just when she thought he was finished, he kept coming back for more and more. She didn't know how he had the strength, especially since he played a full game last night but either way she was glad that he was exhausted and asleep, it would make things easier when she left.

She looked at him and if it was even possible, he got even more handsome. His hair was ruffled and he looked so adorable, his face was calm and relaxed, his breathing steady. She wondered to herself how someone like him could hurt her so. She knew it was a bad idea coming to see him, especially at the dead of night, but she couldn't help it. Like a moth to a flame, she wanted to see him. She wanted to talk to him, explain things but she didn't expect things to end like this, although in the back of her mind she knew that something like this would happen.

She didn't want to deal with the consequences of her action. She knew it was wrong, even though it felt right, very right. She looked back at him and gently traced her fingers through his dark hair. She closed her eyes, snuggled further into him and he responded by wrapping his arms tighter around her. She smiled knowing that he was still sound asleep and that he was reacting on instinct. For a moment, she lied there safe and warm in his arms. For a moment she let her mind forget about everything that had happened and for a moment the world stopped spinning and it was just her and him.

She opened her eyes and knew the moment passed. The world never stopped spinning and it was never just him and her. Reluctantly and with a little luck, she managed to release herself from his grasp, careful not to wake him. Gently kissing his forehead, she got up and quietly got dressed. Before walking out, she looked back at him.

"I love you.." She whispered softly. "But I can't be with you."

. . . .

Brooke Davis walked the halls and found the person she was looking for. She combed her fingers through her hair and straightened herself up. She had to admit that she was a little bit flustered, as well as a little annoyed and mad. Who the hell did Nathan Scott think he was, talking to her like that. But then again, he held all the power, if she didn't do what he asked, she could kiss Rogue Vogue goodbye. She had to think fast and come up with a different plan.

"Hey there.." Brooke said as she walked up to Lucas.

"Hey.." He offered her a weak smile and then yawned.

"Long night?" She asked.

"You can say that.."

"I heard about Whitey throwing you guys out the bus…"

"Yeah.. that was.. interesting .." Lucas choose his words carefully.

"I just saw Nathan, I'm surprised that you guys didn't kill each other.."

"Yeah.." He nodded and continued to pack his books in his bag.

"Is everything okay?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah.. I'm just tired .. last night was .. was unexpected.."

Brooke nodded her head, wondering what the hell was up with Lucas. "I must say you're usually broody but this morning you're especially broody."

"Gee.. thanks.." Lucas said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean.. hey.. you can talk to me about anything you know that right?"

"Yeah.. I do.." Lucas gave her a small smile. "Thanks.."

"So what exactly happened?" Brooke asked, maybe she could figure out what got Nathan in such a foul mood, well more foul than he usually is. After his break up with Haley, he wasn't exactly Mr. Sunshine. Then it dawned on her and she couldn't believe she didn't think of it before.

"Let's just say it was a weird night.."

"Hm.. let me guess.. it has something to do with Nathan .. well of course Nathan.. but let me guess Haley too?"

"…"

"Haley and maybe a certain Mr. West she was sitting next to?"

"Brooke.." Lucas interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Do you .. do you think I've been a little hard .. on Haley?" He muttered the last part.

"Well from what you told me, she did lie to you .. and going out with half-brother slash arch nemesis totally breaks the BFF code.."

"BFF Code?" He laughed.

"Best friends for life code.. duh!"

"I didn't know there was a code.."

"Sure, there is.. it's like the girl code … you never hook up with your girl friend's ex.. or in your case.. you don't hook up your estranged half brother .. especially without discussing with you first .. I mean if she really was your friend she would've told you sooner instead of sneaking around your back… I mean guys can come and go .. but friends .. that's for life.."

As Lucas listened, he nodded in agreement and started to feel a little better knowing that he wasn't as big of an ass as he thought he was.

"But.." Brooke said.

"But what?" Lucas asked.

"But if she was in love.." Brooke sighed.

"What?"

"Well if she was in love then that changes things.."

"What do you mean?"

"Well.. when you're in love.. you can't help what you do or how you act .. it's as simple as that.."

"Do.. do you think they were in love?"

"I don't know.." Brooke shrugged. "They looked pretty hot and heavy and totally had the cute sweet thing going on but I don't know.. I guess not …"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well.. I mean didn't he sleep with her sister .. if he loved her then he wouldn't have done that .. and you were right about warning Haley, you told her that he would sleep around and you were right.. well sort of but you know what I mean.."

Just then the bell rang and everyone started to head into class.

"Oh I gotta go.. my class is on the other side of school.. see you later.." Brooke waved bye.

"But he didn't sleep with Taylor.." Lucas muttered to himself.

. . . . .

Later at lunch, Peyton and Lucas were walking to an empty table in the cafeteria. Making their way to the table, they both put their stuff down.

"I'm just going to grab a piece of fruit.. you want anything?" Lucas asked.

"I'm good thanks.." Peyton replied.

Lucas went over to the fruit basket and reached his hand inside, only for his hand to collide with someone else's.

"Oh sorry.." Haley said and then looking up she saw it was Lucas. "Never mind I take it back.." She said bitterly.

Lucas tried to put a smile on his face but he couldn't hide his nervousness. He was never nervous around Haley.

"Here.. you.. you can have it.." He offered.

"No.. it's okay.."

"I insist Hales.." He placed the orange in her hand. Haley winced in the inside, hearing Lucas call her by her nickname, as if they were still friends. Haley missed that among other things.

Haley simply nodded and gave him a small smile and then walked away.

Haley paid for her food and headed straight out the cafeteria. She needed to get out of there as soon as possible. However, her feet got the best of her and she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry.." She mumbled, as she scrambled to the floor to pick up her notebook and food. Luckily, she had a juice box and a sandwich still in it's wrap.

"Is this yours?" Brooke asked, offering the orange to her.

"Yeah.. thanks.." Haley grabbed it and started to walk away.

"Haley .. wait.."

"What is it Brooke, I don't have time for you games.."

"Games?"

"Yeah.. or did you forget about the time you came up to me wanting to drop off the face for prom queen and you'd help me with Lucas.."

"Oh .. that.."

"Yeah.. that.." Haley kept walking.

"Yeah.. about that.. sorry .. moment of weakness.."

"Whatever.." Haley rolled her eyes, she didn't have time to dissect the logic behind how Brooke Davis' mind worked.

"And speaking of prom, you're going right.."

"No.. I'm not.."

"What you have to.. it's like a right of passage.."

"I could care less about some stupid prom.. it's not like I have a date.." Haley mumbled.

"Ohh.. I see now.."

"Brooke, drop it.. please.."

"Fine .. I'm just curious.. I mean I am head of the prom committee and I want to make sure everyone who's going already paid for their tickets… which speaking of which .. I have to meet with Principal Turner about.."

Haley continued to walk, already forgetting about Brooke Davis. A short time later, Brooke walked inside the principal's office and the two started to go on about the details of the upcoming party.

"And the list of student volunteer's?" Principal Turner asked, just then his phone rang. "Excuse me.." He said as he picked up his call.

Brooke pulled out a piece of paper and looked at the names of the volunteers. Smirking to herself, she added in two last additions, Lucas Scott and Haley James.

"Yes.. just fax the over the order for the new chairs and talk to the board to see if they have a spare bus for the lacrosse team.. okay thanks." Principal Turner placed his phone back.

"That's okay.." Brooke smiled. "Here's the list.."

. . . .

Lucas was tired and wondered why he decided to walk home after school. Last night with the whole thing with Nathan and Haley and now Damien was totally weird. The night replayed itself over and he couldn't believe that he and Nathan actually talked. He was so confused by everything and worst of all, he felt extremely guilty over what he did to Haley. He didn't have time to think though as a dark van pulled right up near him.

The doors open and Nathan and a couple of the guys from the team came out. Not again, Lucas thought to himself as two guys grabbed him and held him still.

"Nathan, what the fuck!?"

"Guys.. put him in the van… Lucas.. you're coming with me.."

"The hell? You're going to dump me in another field.."

"No.." Nathan said firmly. "Not this time.."

The two guys dragged a kicking and screaming Lucas inside. Everyone went inside and with that they were off.

. . . .

A short time later, they were at Nathan's driveway.

"Cuff him to my car.." Nathan ordered as he threw one of the guys a pair of handcuffs. The next thing he knew, Lucas was handcuffed to the door of Nathan's SUV.

"Get in.." Nathan ordered as he pushed Lucas inside.

"What the fuck!" Lucas exclaimed. Nathan reached over him and placed his seatbelt on for him and then closed the door.

"Thanks for your help guys.." Nathan waved off and stepped inside his car and stepped inside.

"What the fuck is going on Nathan?!" Lucas yelled.

"Would you shut up.. I'm not dumping you in some field.. so don't worry."

"This from the guy who kidnapped me and handcuffed me to his car."

"If I asked you to come, I knew you wouldn't go.."

"If you asked nicely…"

"Right.." Nathan said as he continued to drive.

"So where the hell are you taking me …"

"This clinic in Wilmington.."

"Clinic? What STD did you catch.. you didn't like pass it to Haley?!"

"Shut up dumbass.. it's a heart clinic.."

"Why the hell are you taking me there?"

Nathan sighed. "My dad.. our umm.. dad.." Nathan mumbled. "He had a heart attack.."

"What.. you going to take me to see daddy dearest.. well he never gave a shit about me and I don't give a crap about him .. so he can die for all I care.." Lucas said bitterly, not caring he sounded too harsh.

"We're not going to see him.. we umm.. we have to get tested.."

"Tested…" Lucas mumbled, now much more worried than he was before.

"Dan… he has a heart condition that the doctors found out .. it's called HCM .."

"HCM?"

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.. and it's genetic.."

"Genetic?" Lucas mumbled.

"Meaning.. you and I have a fifty percent chance of having it.."

Lucas stayed quiet for a moment, trying to process everything in. It didn't take a genius to know that HCM is serious and knowing that he might have it was sending his mind into overdrive.

"So you kidnap me and tell this to me now!! What the hell!?"

"I know the timing sucks .. but I figured it's best hearing it from me than my mom telling your mom.."

"Why didn't you just do that?"

"Cuz I know how much you worry about your mom and you're probably not going to tell her about this unless she needs to.."

"You don't know me .." Lucas said bitterly, not caring that Nathan was right. Karen Roe had a lot to deal with, especially raising a child. She didn't need any extra grief.

"No.. I don't .. but I know what Haley told me about you .."

"I don't care!! You have no right to just grab me and force me to take some test that'll change everything!!"

"You're right!" Nathan yelled back as he pulled the car over to the side of the road. He pulled a pair of keys from his pocket and reached over towards Lucas and uncuffed him.

"There.. you're free to go .. at least I told you.. I did my part.. but you can get out this car now .. or go with me… the choice is yours.."

Lucas glared at Lucas for a moment before looking back onto the road.

"Let's go.." He said softly and Nathan nodded as he went back on the road and started to drive.

. . . .

Haley's body was still tingling from last night. Was it only 24 hours ago that she was with Nathan, his body pressed onto hers, the two of them moving as one. She sighed to herself, knowing sleep would not come. She didn't want to think of him, didn't want her body and heart to crave him. Last night was supposed to be her goodbye, a sort of "farewell sex," one last hurrah before she completely cut him off her life. But she already knew that she couldn't do that. They were tied for life and he would be a part of her for as long as she lived.

_Getting up and putting on her shoes and her Tree Hill sweatshirt, she quietly made her way out of the house. It didn't take long for her to arrive at Nathan's house and was relieved to see only Nathan's car in the driveway. She was glad that they would be alone in that big house. She was surprised that the neighbors didn't call the cops on them, they both were a little loud last night. She smiled at the thought and licked her lips in anticipation to what's to come. _

_Finding the spare key and walking inside the house, she suddenly felt very nervous. The alarm bells were already going off inside her head with part of her wanting to keep going and a part of her wanting to leave. She pushed away such thoughts as she made her way to his room. She had to do this, she had to tell him, there was no point in holding it off. _

_Walking down the hall, she saw that the door to his room was ajar. She stood at the doorway and peaked inside, the house was dark but the light from the outside managed to shine through the windows. She nearly gasped at the site before him. Nathan was on his bed, his back and head resting on the head board, his right hand furiously stroking himself while the other massaged his sac. _

_Haley's breathing became ragged as she just watched him pleasure himself. She could see the sweat pouring from his forehead, his beautifully toned chest and abs glistening with sweat, his eyes closed as he clenched his teeth, his huge biceps flexing with each hard pump he was giving himself. She heard him moan and grunt and she could've sworn she heard her name fall on his lips, that alone was enough to get her wet. _

"_Ahh.. fuck…" He muttered to himself as he started to pump his hips into his fist and then moved his left hand on top of his right so now he was using both to stroke himself. It never ceased to amaze Haley how endowed Nathan was, even with both hands covering it, the tip was still left uncovered. She licked her lips, wishing it was her hands wrapped around him, or other things. _

"_Ahh!!" He cried out a moment later as his increased his pace and he moved his left hand back to massaging himself. With one last cry, he exploded all over himself, landing all over his hand up to his chest and down his stomach. His body fell hard back onto his bed as he tried to catch his breath. Haley nearly lost it right there and then and she almost stumbled. _

_Nathan shot up from his bed upon hearing something. Haley knew her cover was blown as she opened the door._

_Nathan's face went from surprise to a smile once he realized who was there. _

"_Hi.." She said lamely. _

"_Hi.." Nathan smirked back. "I hope you enjoyed what you saw.."_

_Haley blushed and looked down. "We need to talk.." She mumbled and she looked back up and was surprised to see Nathan walking up to her. Wiping his hand against his side, he now stood in front of her, his eyes burning right into her and then leaning down and giving her a soft but firm kiss on the lips. She pulled away after a moment, not wanting to get caught up too soon._

"_We.. we need to talk.." _

"_We can talk later.." He said huskily against her lips and then kissed her._

"_No.. Nathan.. I'm serious.." _

"_So am I .." Nathan said as he was once again rock hard. _

"_I'm.. I'm pregnant.." She said softly before he could plan another kiss. This time he stopped and took a step back._

"_What?"_

"_I'm pregnant.." She said again and opened her eyes to look at Nathan, his face unreadable._

"_You're.. you're pregnant.." He muttered and Haley nodded. _

"_Is.. is it mine?" He looked at her, his eyes narrowed. _

"_What? How can you ask that?!" Haley was shocked as she tried to fight off the tears she knew were forming._

"_I mean.. since you're so buddy buddy with Damien West.. or maybe Lucas.."_

"_Nathan! It's yours!!" She practically yelled, now it was her turn to get mad and she was about to walk away but Nathan grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him._

"_Look.. I'm sorry.. I'm just shocked.."_

"_Whatever…" She huffed as she tried to look away from him._

_He placed his hand below her chin and forced her to look at him._

"_Hey.. I'm sorry and I want you to know that I'll be there for you .. one hundred percent.."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yes.. I'm sorry for accusing you.. I know it wasn't right but like I said I'm just shocked .. but I'm going to make it up for you.. I mean this is just as much my problem as it is yours. . look tomorrow we'll see a doctor..." He said as he brushed her hair behind her ear. _

"_We'll make sure you're okay.."_

_Haley started to feel a little better._

"_That.. that sounds good.." Haley nodded._

"_And if you're good to go.. we can have it taken care of right there and then.."_

_Haley took a step back. "What? What do you mean take care of it..?"_

"_There's this clinic in Wilmington.. no one will ever find out .. I can pay for it if you're worried about it.."_

_This time Haley couldn't hold back her tears. "You.. you can't be serious.."_

"_Haley.. we're in high school… do you really think I'm ready to be a dad?.. you a mom .. I told you that I'll take care of this and I will.. don't worry.."_

"_NO!!" She screamed. "You're not touching my baby!!" She tried to get away but Nathan grabbed her and held on to her._

"_LET ME GO!!.. " Haley screamed as she tried to escape for his grasp._

"_You're not going anywhere.." Nathan stated firmly._

"NOOO!!!!!" Haley screamed as she jumped out of bed. Her breathing was heavy and she looked around to see where she was. She was drenched in a cold sweat, her eyes stained with tears. She was relieved to find that she was still in her room and once she calmed down after her nightmare, she clutched her stomach and continued to cry even more.

To Be Continued . . . ..

As soon as I finished this chapter, I already was working on the next one, so please review!!! And I'll try to get it out ASAP!!


	28. Chapter 28

Winners and Losers

Chapter 28

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I know you all have many questions but I'm sorry but I'm not giving anything away, all I can tell you for sure is that the sequence where Haley went to Nathan and told him that she is pregnant is a dream. Some of you were wondering if it was for real, well it is not. Like I said in the last chapter, you were going to get into a little more insight into Haley's character. Now I was wrong to say before that I am hitting the home stretch because I feel that _now_ I am hitting the home stretch. I don't know how many chapters there will be but I can already see at least 4-8. We'll just see, I know how the story will end but when I write some of the characters and the storylines come into life and it becomes longer, which I'm sure you guys won't mind. But I will say that my inspiration for this story has come back, I can't wait to get the next few chapters out. I know all of you are dying for some Naley but don't worry, it'll get there. When I decided to continue this story, it was of course Naley centric but I definitely wanted to get into Nathan/Lucas relationship which you'll get more in this chapter and also a little Lucas/Haley. This chapter is a big turning point for Nathan and Lucas.

Here's an update on my other stories. I am especially eager to get started on other stories. I will definitely finish The Mourning After and Make it Last. Make it Last will only have 3 more chapters left and I will finish that series off. I might cut back on the number of chapter for the Mourning After. The other story I have "Can you show me" will have at least another 2-3 more chapters and I will wrap that story up. I know I have on my plate, but I'm pretty sure that after I finish this story then I can get the rest of that wrapped up pretty fast. As for Damaged Part I and II, I don't think I'm going to make that into a full fledge series, maybe just one more chapter for each story just to wrap it up. I'm excited to write a brand new story, I have so many ideas in my head, I don't know which one will actually last. I guess after this story is wrapped up I'll get a better idea, since I already know how all my other stories are going to end.

I'm not going to lie, I was going to post this a lot sooner but I got busy with work and then I got hammered last night, lol. Without further ado, here's the next chapter, sorry again for any spelling/grammar. Please review!!!!

. . . . .

The rest of the car ride was silent with no words spoken between the two brothers. Nathan was deep in thought, thinking of who else but Haley. But right now he had to get her out of his mind or at least stop thinking of her long enough to focus on what was currently going on. His attempts to talk to her have so far been futile with the exception of their last night together but he didn't think moaning and screaming constituted as a conversation. Right now he had other problems to deal with, like his heart, which ironically enough was also tied in with Haley.

He nearly forgot he had another passenger with him. He glanced at Lucas and saw the serious look he had on his face. While Nathan had time to digest all this information, Lucas had not. He may not like the guy but he can understand where he was coming from. For a moment, Nathan let his mind wonder, if in another world if things were different, could the two of them even be friends. He shook his head, that could never happen.

Lucas stared out the window looking at the millionth tree they passed by. He couldn't believe how his world was once again ripped from under him. He didn't know how much more he can take. When he joined the Ravens, he knew that it would change things but he never thought it would be like this. When Lucas thought about it even more, he realized that long before he joined the team that his life wasn't what it seemed. His best friend Haley had been lying to him for years and now he could have a potential heart condition, if he had it, would be nothing new. It was with him all his life. Lucas realized that the world, his world was never what it seemed. Looking at it now, he wished he could go back. What they say is true, ignorance is bliss.

He felt terrible and guilt ridden over his treatment of Haley. He was so blinded by his anger that he took it out on her. He let his hatred for his brother consume him and he never let himself think that her feelings for Nathan were real. Now.. now he wasn't sure. He got a glimpse into his brother last night and although he was still an ass there was still a person behind the façade. Nathan always had a way with girls and wondered if Haley just got caught up in that. As for Nathan, he couldn't deny that when Nathan said he loved her that he actually believed him. Lucas had never been in love but that didn't mean he couldn't recognize it and if Nathan was playing him then he deserves an Oscar because Nathan had him believing.

Nathan pulled up to the parking lot and parked his car. They quietly got out and walked inside the clinic. Lucas was nervous and from what he could tell so was Nathan. He'd never seen him like this, well except the times he talked about Haley. He was always so confident but to see him now, feeling vulnerable, had Lucas feeling unsettled.

"Last name please.." The receptionist asked as she saw the two young men walk up to the counter.

"Scott.." Nathan replied.

"And you sir?" The woman turned to Lucas.

Lucas looked at Nathan for a moment, "Scott.."

"Ahh.. we have two Scotts here.. you guys related?" The woman asked with a smile.

"Something like that.." Nathan smirked, while Lucas kept a hard gaze. The woman looked at them curiously for a second before looking down at her appointment book.

"Okay… Lucas and Nathan Scott.." Both boys nodded. "Have a seat, we'll call you when we're ready."

"That was awkward.." Lucas muttered as they walked towards the waiting room.

"Almost as awkward as taking an HCM test.." Nathan smirked as they sat down.

"Ass!" Lucas shot back at Nathan.

They both sat down against the same wall, a chair separating the two of them. They waited patiently, both trying to find something to distract themselves. Nathan picked up a Sports Illustrated Magazine, disappointed to find out that it was nearly 6 months old but he flipped through the pages regardless. Lucas just stared in front of him but tapped his foot excessively.

"Would you stop that?" Nathan pointed to Lucas' shaking leg.

"Would you stop flipping the pages so loud?" Lucas shot back. "God.. this is all your fault…" Lucas muttered.

"My fault!?"

"You know it's bad enough you made my life a living hell but you had to fall in love with my best friend too.. and now you kidnapped me and I can die.."

"Would you relax.. I think you've been spending too much time with Brooke?"

"Says the guy who dumped me in a ditch the last time he kidnapped me… gosh next thing I know.. you're going to tell me that you've also been seeing my mom on the side.."

"Well.. " Nathan grinned.

"Your unbelievable !!" Lucas picked up a magazine and threw it at Nathan. All Nathan could do was laugh at his seat while the other patients looked at them curiously.

"God.. can't you be like serious for one moment in your life.." Lucas shook his head.

"We're going to find out if one of us has a genetic heart disease .. my absentee mother is in Savannah taking care of my bed ridden dad.. who by the way is more concerned with our upcoming game against Cover City .. and the girl of my dreams.." Nathan's voice rose in frustration.

"Lucas Scott.." A voice called out and interrupted Nathan.

Lucas looked at Nathan for a moment.

"You.. you should go.." Nathan said quietly as he looked down. Lucas gave him one last look before he stood.

"Nathan Scott.." The same voice called out and Nathan stood up and followed Lucas to the woman.

"You're Lucas." She asked and Lucas nodded. "You'll be in examining room A, just down this hall and first door on your right… you must be Nathan .. you'll be in examining room D.. down the hall and the second one to your left."

Both boys nodded and walked down the hall, giving each other one last glance before turning at their respective corners.

. . . . . .

Karen Roe went to the back of the café to drop off some dishes. The place was quiet tonight and so she took a rag from underneath the counter and started to wipe the counter down. She heard the chimes on her door ring and a second later, she looked up to see who was there.

"Haley.." Karen greeted her warmly. "You're not scheduled to work.."

"Yeah.. I know.. I just wanted to drop by and say hi .. I know I haven't seen you in a while.."

"Well I'm glad to have you here.. it's been pretty slow …"

"Yeah.. I see.." Haley said as she looked around.

"Umm.. Lucas said he was going to pass by but he hasn't.. I .. I don't even know where he is.." Karen said hesitantly.

"I guess you heard .." Haley mumbled.

"I haven't heard anything unless it comes from your mouth.. so you want to tell me what's up.."

"Nathan and I broke up.." Haley said softly and judging from Karen's reaction, it seemed that Karen already knew.

"Is that why you asked for time off?"

Haley nodded.

"And things with Lucas?" Karen prodded, she hated to see the two of them fighting.

"Worst.." She muttered and then took a deep breath. "Look you know what.. forget it .. I know he's your son.."

"Yes.." Karen said as her hand reached to Haley's hand. "Yes.. he is my son and he can be pretty bone headed sometimes.. but don't think that just because you guys are in a bad place that you can't talk to me.. "

Haley nodded and smiled. "I .. I don't want to get into it but he said some things.. some things.. mean things and it hurt .."

"Aww.. Haley.."

"But.. I .. I probably deserved it .. I have been lying to him this whole time.."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he has the right to treat you like that.."

"Maybe.. maybe not but right now I'm just tired .. tired of it all."

Karen nodded, she knew this must be extremely difficult for Haley to handle, dealing with a break up and the rift between her best friend. As close as Haley and Karen are, Karen was still the adult and that for both their sakes, Karen was glad not to get the complete full disclosure.

"I guess it's a good thing that you have some more free time to yourself.. get yourself back on track.."

"I wish it were that easy.. with all these free time I keep thinking about him.."

"Nathan or Lucas?"

"Both.. everything is so screwed up.."

Karen smiled at her warmly. "Look Haley, I may not know everything that happened and quite frankly I kinda don't want to know.." Karen gave a small laugh.

"Don't really want to tell.." Haley smiled back.

"But look at me .. you're young .. you're in high school, these problems are nothing new.. a bad break up.. a fight with your best friend .. I know things are hard right now Haley but that doesn't mean it's not going to get better.. everyone goes through something like this.."

"Like this?"

"Well not exactly your situation but you know what I mean.. God.. I remember some of the drama I had back in high school.." Karen shook her head. "At times I felt like my world was going to end .. I didn't think things could get any worse but then.." Karen trailed off.

"Then what?" Haley asked.

"Then I found out I was pregnant with Lucas.." Karen sighed. "I love Lucas with all my heart, he's the best thing that ever happened to me .. but God.. there were times when I didn't know how I was going to make it.."

"How.. how did you get through that?" Haley asked hesitantly. "I mean.. being in high school and pregnant?"

"Honestly, I don't know.. I guess I just took things one day at a time.. when I realized that I wasn't going to get any help from Dan, I had to make the best out of what I can give… my parents were livid to say the least.. they stayed by me during my whole pregnancy but my relationship with them was never the same.. they left town shortly after Lucas was born .. but you'd be surprised to see who your real friends are .. I mean I was the popular one in high school.. captain of the cheerleading squad.. dated the basketball captain .. but my so called friends went off to college and never came back to check up on me.."

"Aww.. Karen.."

"No.. it's okay.. it was for the best I guess.. after that I got to see who my real friends were .. not to say all my friends from high school ditched me .. I still keep in contact with a few.. a very few and they helped me out during the early days as much as they could.. there was my neighbor who watched Lucas for me .. and there was his Uncle Keith who stood by me through out everything.. it's because of him that Lucas has Scott for his last name.."

"Keith.." Haley smiled when she thought about him.

"How .. how is he?"

"I don't know …" Karen said regrettably. "He wanted more .. but I still had Lucas to take care of and the Café was finally making money.. it was bad timing .. I know one day I'll see him again and put everything behind us.."

"You're an amazing woman Karen.."

Karen smiled. "So are you Haley James… look I probably depressed you with my story.."

"No don't be silly Karen.."

"Well either way.. I just want you to know that it could always be worse.. do what I did and just take things one day at a time.."

"Thanks Karen for your help.. you really made me feel better.. I mean look what you went through and raising a child by yourself.. I mean if you can get through it so can I .."

Karen looked at Haley curiously.

"I mean.. going through what you did … I can surely get passed this.." Haley smiled nervously.

Karen nodded. "I'm.. I'm glad I can be of help."

"Thanks Karen.." Haley leaned over the counter and gave Karen a quick hug.

"Anytime Haley.. I know you can't tell me everything .. but please don't bottle it in .. it'll only eat you alive.."

"I know.." Haley nodded. "I know exactly who to talk to.."

"Would that person be Lucas? I know I don't want to butt in but I really don't like seeing the two of you fight like this…"

"Sorry Karen.. not Lucas.. I think it's time to have some girl talk with my sister .."

Haley gave a small smile.

. . . .

"Thank you Mr. Scott.." The Doctor said as he wrote some notes on his pad. "You can put your shirt back on.."

"So.. what's.. what's the verdict?" Lucas asked.

"We can't be certain for sure until your test results come back.. they'll be sent to the lab today and we'll take it from there.."

"How.. how long is the wait.."

"It should be no more than a few days tops .. unless the lab is really backed up, which I doubt.."

"Is.. is there anything I should be doing until then?"

"Just keep doing what you've been doing .. I mean from everything I've seen, you're as healthy as can be.. if you do have HCM, it's something that you already have now .. but if you do have it then we can take the appropriate actions .."

"And what.. what happens if I do have it?" Lucas asked nervously.

"Well the lab results will show us the extent of the HCM if you have it .. there are some cases where it is very mild, where all you have to do is eat healthy and exercise, which is what everyone should be doing anyway, and coming in for regular check ups .. moderate cases of HCM requires the patient to take daily medication .. then there are the few where the HCM is severe.."

"What happens to those patients? And basketball, what happens with that?"

"Mr. Scott.. I know this must be very difficult for you and understandably so but we should really just wait for your test results to come back.. there's no sense in worrying for something you may or may not have.."

Lucas nodded, knowing there was no use in doing anything until he got the results back, but he knew the next few days were going to be rough.

"Thanks.. thanks doctor for everything.."

Lucas finished buttoning his shirt and stepped out of the examination room. He walked back to the waiting room and found Nathan sitting there.

"You were fast.." Lucas commented.

"That's because I didn't take it .." Nathan said as he got up and walked towards the exit. Lucas stood there for a second, completely surprised. It took him a moment before his feet finally started moving.

"Hold up!" Lucas called out as he stepped outside the clinic and followed Nathan to his car. "What the hell? … you drag me here and now you're suddenly telling me that you didn't take it.."

"That's exactly what happened.."

"Why?"

"Why what? I didn't want to take it." Nathan shot back.

"That's bullshit.. why don't you want to take it .."

"Like you care .. so can we please just go now.." Nathan shook his head as he unlocked the doors and stepped inside. Lucas came in right after him and put on his seatbelt.

"There are risks Nathan.. the doctors were telling me.."

"I know them.. the doctor told me all about it too when I told him I wasn't taking it.."

"What the hell is your problem? I know you don't care for anyone except yourself but I didn't even think you were this selfish .."

"Selfish!!" Nathan slammed the breaks and the car came to scratching halt.

"Fuck Nathan, obviously you don't care if you die but some people actually still want to live…"

"I know I can be an ass but don't judge me or act like you know me .. or act as if you care .."

"You know, you're right I don't know you and I can care less what happens to you .. if you don't want to take the test fine.. obviously you don't care for anyone else around you like your friends or your family.. I'm sure your mom and dad will be happy to know that their son didn't take a test to see if he could suddenly die of cardiac arrest."

"My parents.." Nathan scoffed. "They.. they don't care about me.." Nathan said bitterly.

"Nathan.." Lucas called out and he was surprised to hear the level of concern he had in his voice.

"You know what.. I want to show you something.."

. . . .

"What're we doing here?" Lucas asked. The rest of the drive was silent up until they pulled into Dan Scott motors.

"Just follow me.." Nathan said as he went inside. He waved hi to a couple of people he knew and the two went into Dan's office.

Nathan reached into his desk and pulled out a pair of keys, then pulling out another drawer, he took out a small metal box.

"I don't want to take the test because that means my basketball career is done.."

"You know there's more to life than basketball.." Lucas shot back.

"For you maybe.. there are only two things in the world I care about .. one is basketball and the other is Haley .. actually I take that back.. it's just Haley.." Nathan smirked. "I could care less about basketball if it meant that I was back with Haley. .but .. but without her.. I'm nothing .. I'm nothing and all I have is basketball .. so no Pucas .. I don't want to take that stupid test …"

"Nathan.." Lucas once again tried to plead with Nathan.

"Don't give me that tone like you care what happens to me.. you called me selfish fine .. whatever.. I'm anything but .. I did you a favor by taking you to the clinic .. and as for my parents.. like I said .. they could care less.. my mom is barely home and my dad .. all my dad wants to know about me is how many points I scored the night before .." Nathan sighed as he opened the box.

"God.. I even asked Brooke to help you and Haley out.." Nathan shook his head.

"What're you talking about?"

"I told her I'd send some sketches of hers to my cousin who works in New York if she can get you two to be friends again.."

"And why the hell would you do that?"

"Because I love her.. and she loves you unfortunately .. and I believe that you actually care about her and that if you had HCM, I knew you'd need your best friend.."

"So now you're acting as if you care about me.. when all you've done to me since I known you is make my life a living hell.."

Nathan laughed. "Well I'm not going to lie.. it was sort of fun.. .." Nathan said as he tossed the contents of the box on the desk so that Lucas can see.

"Like I told you last night .. be glad that Dan didn't raise you .. he'd put you through hell like he did with me .. I hate that you got to be with Haley when I couldn't .. and because of you, she held back with me and how I hated that I wish I were in your place.."

Lucas looked at Nathan in shock, he was certainly full of surprises lately. But then Lucas looked down at the photos and newspaper clippings before him. They were all of him, pictures of him when he was a child, growing up, a newspaper clipping showing how he won this essay contest in 5th grade, some were pictures of his mom and Dan and his mom when they were in high school. Lucas' mouth fell open as he looked through the items.

"I hate you because you were the reason why my dad treated me like crap .. for the longest time I wondered how he can be that way with me but then I found this right after I found out that my dad had another kid .. and that's when I knew …" Nathan sighed. "That's when I knew deep down he didn't care about me that.. that he made the wrong choice by sticking with me and my mom when it was really you and Karen he wanted." Nathan glared at Lucas.

To Be Continued . . . .

Like I said this chapter was huge for Nathan/Lucas. This chapter was much longer so I broke it apart and ended it here. The other half will also have a few surprises, so please review so I can post it up already!! Hehe


	29. Chapter 29

Winners and Losers

Chapter 29

Once again thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I want to comment much more about some of the comments but I don't want to give anything away. Aside from Naley, I love exploring the Nathan/Lucas brother relationship. You'll see a lot more of that in this chapter. Like I said, last chapter was really long and so this is the second half of it. There's a lot of things in here.. and I really enjoyed writing it. I was going to post this a lot sooner but I figured I'd save it for tonight since there isn't a new episode tonight. Like I said, I was really happy with the feedback and I'm itching to get the next few chapters out. You're definitely going to see the set up in this chapter for some major drama as well as well as turning points for Nathan, Haley and Lucas. Enjoy and please review!!!

. . . .

"I hate you because you were the reason why my dad treated me like crap .. for the longest time I wondered how he can be that way with me but then I found this right after I found out that my dad had another kid .. and that's when I knew …" Nathan sighed. "That's when I knew deep down he didn't care about me that.. that he made the wrong choice by sticking with me and my mom when it was really you and Karen he wanted." Nathan glared at Lucas.

Lucas just stared at Nathan, unsure of what to do or say. This has got to be one of the weirdest 24 hours he ever had. He hated to admit it but he was definitely seeing Nathan in a new light. He was still the same arrogant son of a bitch he always was but something had changed, something was different, or maybe was it Lucas that was different.

After an awkward moment of silence, Lucas finally spoke.

"I .. I don't know what you what me to say.."

"I don't need you to say anything.." Nathan shook his head as he put the contents of the box back inside. Once he put them away, Nathan looked up to see Lucas still looking at him.

"If it's sympathy you want.. you're not getting it from me." Lucas declared.

Nathan laughed and shook his head. "The last thing I need from you is your sympathy .. I don't want your pity."

"Then.. what exactly do you want from me?"

"You?" Nathan laughed again. "I don't want anything from you."

Lucas smirked. "I think there is something you want from me .. why else would you bring me here and show me all this?"

"Maybe I'm just using you.." Nathan scoffed.

"I know you're using me.." Lucas scoffed back.

"Really now?" Nathan smirked, this should be interesting.

"Trying to show me this I don't know .. _softer_ side of you.. .. that I'd change my opinion of you somehow.. that I'd actually approve of you and Haley because you two are on the rocks right now and having me on your side will certainly help you out.. that's why you took me to the clinic. .that's why you took me here.. and that's why you bribed Brooke into helping you.."

"Maybe you're not as big of an idiot as I thought you were." Nathan smirked back.

"But there's more. ."

"Really .. you have me all figured out now huh?"

"You're lonely .. without Haley you have no one to turn to.. the goons that follow you around and the bitches that flaunt over you .. they're just there .. they don't know you.."

"Really now? So I'm lonely and apparently you _know_ me now?"

"I didn't say that I know you… I don't know you.." Lucas shrugged. "But I do know that I don't think your as big of an idiot as I thought you were.." Lucas smirked back, giving the same tone of cockiness Nathan just used on him. Lucas bit his lip for a second and then continued. "If I know Haley, I know that she wouldn't take your bullshit.. I mean she had to .. she did sleep with you .. unless you really did turn her into one of your sluts.."

Nathan clenched his fist and tightened his jaw.

".. but seeing that angry look on your face.. I'd say I was right with the first assessment .. and well there's me .. and I know I don't take your shit .. all these things you told me in the past 24 hours.. have you even told anyone else besides Haley?" Lucas dared him to answer.

Nathan just stared quiet.

"I thought so.." Lucas scoffed. "You don't want my sympathy .. you want my friendship.. or something I don't know.."

"So now we're friends.." Nathan looked at him amused.

"You're not my friend .. but .. you're .. you're not the enemy." Lucas sighed. "I can blame our fucked up _dad_ for that.."

"I won't argue with you there…" Nathan agreed.

"So where does this leave us?" Lucas looked at Nathan curiously.

"We are going to leave here.. and you won't say anything to anyone about this whole HCM thing to anyone.."

"And why would I keep this to myself?"

"Because we both got a lot to loose .. basketball for starters.. you think Whitey will play either of us if he finds out we have HCM.."

"You have a point there but we don't know if we have HCM and more importantly only one of us took the test.."

"So you're concerned with my well being?"

"Unfortunately, we need you to make it to states.."

"Aww.. I'm hurt Luke.." Nathan mocked, feigning hurt.

"Are you going to take the test or not?"

"Maybe.. it depends.."

"Depends on what?"

"If there's something else I have in my life besides basketball.."

Lucas laughed. "You're unbelievable.."

"And you are keeping your mouth shut.. especially to Haley.."

"But me and Haley aren't talking.. I can thank you for that.."

"No you can thank yourself.. but I did enlist Brooke to help you guys out and clean your mess .. unless your friendship with Haley is really over.."

"Is that what you want?"

"Maybe.. I want her to be happy .. and unfortunately that involves you as well.."

"Does it kill you that you're not the only guy in Haley's life?"

"Yes.." Nathan said honestly as he looked away from Lucas.

"God, I've never seen anyone so whipped before.."

"No, you've never seen anyone in love before.. there's a difference dumb ass.."

Lucas nodded. "You have a point.."

Nathan shook his head, he hated to sound so weak and vulnerable but he had to ask. He missed her so much.

"So do I pass?"

"Pass?"

"You're approval for _MY _precious Haley.."

Lucas laughed. He had to give it to Nathan, he was good. "So I can put in a good word for you with her?" Lucas asked and Nathan nodded.

Lucas took a deep breath and studied Nathan for a moment. "I believe you really do love her, as pathetic and utterly sweet and cute as it is .. I believe you care for her.. I believe you want her to be happy.. I believe you never want to hurt her but there's a difference between not wanting to hurt and actually hurting her.. and unfortunately you already hurt her, you continue to hurt her and if you guys did happen to get back together, I think you would still will hurt her even if you don't mean to." Lucas said honestly.

Nathan bit his tongue. "Fair enough.." Nathan replied.

"But I'll keep this HCM crap between us .. but Nathan you _have_ to take it.."

"I know I have to .. I .. I just don't want to.." Nathan said as he walked out of their father's office.

. . . . .

"Well well.. if it isn't Lucas Scott.."

"Good morning to you too.." Lucas smiled at Brooke.

"So where were you yesterday? I was calling you to see if you wanted to hang out?"

Lucas thought back to his day with Nathan yesterday. "I umm.. got busy doing something.."

"Really?.. I heard a silly rumor from one of the guys that they kidnapped you.."

Lucas laughed. "No.. nothing like that.. they just gave me a ride.. a forced ride.."

"Is everything okay Luke?"

"Why wouldn't it be? I mean it's not like I'm working behind my friend's back with Nathan.."

"I.. I don't know what you're talking about.." Brooke muttered.

Lucas laughed again. "Relax Brooke, you're a terrible liar.. I know… Nathan told me."

"He.. he told you?"

"See I was right!!" Lucas pointed at her.

Brooke opened her mouth in shock and Lucas laughed again. "Haha.. no it's okay.. Nathan told me.."

"He.. he told you? And you guys talked.. and why did he tell you?"

"I don't know.. I think he wants me to help him out with Haley or something.."

"He never really gave me a reason.."

"But was it worth it?"

Brooke tried to hide her smile. "I got through the first phase … they actually want me to send some samples in.. not just sketches so I think it's a go.. I'm sorry Luke, I didn't mean to go around your back.. and it wasn't like I was trying to do something mean.. just get you and Haley to talk and hang out together.."

"It's okay Brooke… but I have to say your plans sucks.."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Well, when you get a note to see Principal Turner later today, I think you'll reconsider.."

"Turner? Should I be worried.."

"Relax Luke, you're not in trouble.. it's just some prom stuff.."

"What is it?"

"You have to wait and see.."

"Brooke.."

"No Lucas.. you'll see .. I can't tell you .. where's the fun in that.."

"Well you owe me Brooke Davis.."

"Owe you.. how?" She smiled at him as she played with the buttons on his shirt.

"Yes.. I think you do.. you know.. going around my back with Nathan.." Lucas smirked. "Now with this prom business.."

"My my Lucas .. are you asking me to be your date.."

Lucas just smiled back. "Oh.. not my date.."

. . . . .

Haley walked inside school and tried to avoid her fellow classmates' gaze. She hadn't seen either Scott this morning and she preferred to keep it that way. She was early but she didn't care, actually doing homework was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment. It was then that she felt a pair of strong hands grab her and pull her inside an empty classroom.

"What the.." Haley said as she was rushed inside the empty room, Nathan closing the door behind them.

"You're avoiding me.." Nathan said, ignoring her protests.

"I am.." She looked at him. God she hated how handsome he looked and he looked mad, which made him look even hotter.

"Haley.." Nathan said frustrated as he walked closer to her but she took a step back.

"I'm sorry.." She said. "I know I shouldn't have come to see you the other night.."

"But you did .."

"Yes, what's done is done.. I can't take it back.."

"Exactly.. what's done is done Haley.. I'm sorry for everything I am.. but I love you and I miss you .. and I need you.."

"Nathan, please.. I can't do this.."

"You can't do this but you can show up to my room in the middle of the night and make love to me.." Nathan said frustrated.

"I came to your room.. but you initiated the sex.."

Nathan fired back. "And don't call it sex.. we made love Haley.. and don't act as if you didn't want it!"

"I did want it!" Haley exclaimed bitterly. "I didn't want to but I did okay.. I have feelings too and I can't just flip a switch and turn them off.."

"You don't need to fight it.."

"I fought it for two years and when I gave in I just got burned .. you have no idea what you did to me Nathan.."

"Then tell me.. talk to me please… Haley.. that was a long time ago.."

"For you not for me, Nathan.." Haley sighed. "I know coming over was a mistake but I went anyways .. yes I miss you too and that night I got weak.. I'm sorry for messing with your head and giving you some sort of false hope between us.."

"Don't say we're over when I love you and you clearly still love me.."

"I do love you Nathan .."

"Then why can't we be together?"

"Because I can't trust you .. I can't trust myself around you .. I don't even know me anymore.. how can I be with you if I can't even take care of myself.."

"I'll take care of you.."

"No, Nathan you don't get it .. I could've been an aunt right now .. my sister wouldn't be such a mess.. my parents would actually be around.. Lucas and I would still be friends.. but that's not the case.. and it's your fault.. and also mine.."

Haley sighed. "I shouldn't have came to you that night you faced Lucas .. I should've kept the past in the past.. you're the past Nathan and I need to move forward.."

"With out me?"

"Especially with out you… I don't want to hurt you Nathan, believe me when I say that.. I'm still so mad at you and I'm trying to let that go .. but I can't .. and I can't forget either Nathan.. I can't bring myself to forgive you for what you did … and I .. I can't bring myself to forgive me .."

"Haley.. this isn't your fault.." Nathan choked up as he stepped closer to her.

"Nathan, don't try to be a martyr .. it takes two people to break us up.. me and you .. you did what you did and if I wasn't so damn scared and just told Lucas from the get-go then none of this would've happened.." Haley shook her head.

"I'm sorry Nathan.. I really am .. like I told you the other night, I don't want to play games .. I don't want to tell you that there's a chance for us to be us again when I don't believe it right now and I don't know if I'll ever believe in us again.. I know that's not what you want to hear but it's the truth.. I'm sorry.." She choked.

"If it's time you need .. space.. I've been trying to give you that.."

"I know.. and thank you for that but .."

"No.. don't say it.. you'll kill me if you say it .. I can't live without you Haley.."

"I really am sorry Nathan for everything.." She said hugging him and he quickly wrapped his arms around him. "If you love me Nathan.. you have to let me go.." She said looking up at him and then leaning forward, she gave him a small kiss on the cheeks. He stood there frozen as she pulled back from him.

"What if I can't.." He said.

"You have to .."

"What if you don't come back.." He said as a tear slid down his face.

"I'm sorry Nathan . . . ." Haley walked closer to the door.

"This isn't over Haley… if you think I can just let you go after everything that's happened, then you're wrong.."

"I didn't expect you to give up without a fight.."

"I'm not giving up.. I'm going to fight for us Haley.. believe that.." He said taking her hand in his and moving closer to her. This time she didn't fight him as he wrapped his arms around her once more.

"You have to let me go.." She whispered against his chest. "If we're meant to be.. then we'll find our way back.." She said looking up at him.

"Then it's a good thing.. that.. that we are meant to be.." He gave her a grin and she smiled to herself.

"I .. I have to get to class.." She said trying to pull away. Nathan held her in place for a moment and then leaned down and kissed her forehead, before letting her go. She walked back to the door and gave him one more look, before taking off. She hated to admit it but a part of her felt relieved that Nathan wasn't going to give up on them, that he still had faith in them. She lost that and hopefully Nathan had enough faith for the both of them.

. . . . . .

"Am I in trouble?" Haley asked. She was scared shit when she found out that Principal Turner wanted to talk to her, talk about a bad day getting worst.

"No.. Miss James.. you're not in trouble.." Turner gave her a quizzical look.

"Then why am I here?" Haley asked.

Just then the door opened and Lucas came walking in. Haley looked at him curiously and he carried the same shocked look that she had.

"Good.. Mr. Scott .. please have a seat.."

"Um.. what's this about?" Lucas asked.

"Yes about that.." Turner looked through his papers. "Now, I was so relieved to see your names on the list.."

"The list?" Haley interrupted.

"Yes.. the volunteer list for prom.."

"But I'm not on that list.." Haley replied back. Lucas shook his head, this had Brooke's name all over it.

"Yes.. you are.. remember I told you that I signed us up a few weeks back.." Lucas looked at Haley. She just throw him a dirty look.

"Anyways.. I don't want to keep you guys here too long .. but like I said.. I was glad to see your names.. I can't think of any two students more trustworthy than you two to help take care of the finances.." Turner interrupted.

"Finances?" Haley asked.

"Yes.. handling the money.. buying the decorations, favors.. I can't just give the school credit card to just anyone.." Turner smiled.

Haley sank into her seat. _This can't be happening_, she though to herself.

After a couple of minutes, they both stepped out of Turner's office.

"What was that?" Haley glared at Lucas.

"Well remember when you said you wanted to do more besides tutoring.. this must've slipped my mind."

"Slipped?"

"Look .. I gotta run.. but how about we meet tomorrow after school to discuss? I know you're not working at the café.."

"Wait.. Lucas.. I'm not talking to you !!" Haley pouted.

"Yeah.. but apparently we're working together.. and we're also in charge of the door too.. so looks like we'll be each other's dates too.." He smirked and for a second Haley could've sworn she saw a little Nathan in him. That thought left her unsettled. He took off in the hallways but Haley didn't have anymore time for this. She was already running late. She would deal with Lucas later. Right now she had to get in her car and head straight to her sister's.

. . . . .

Lucas walked inside the gymnasium and saw a dark haired figure shooting free throws by himself.

"Free throws still suck?" Lucas smirked.

"God.. what the hell are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk.."

"Fuck off…" He said annoyed as he picked up another ball and took a shot, but unfortunately, he missed.

"It's about Haley James.."

"What.. what about Haley?

"Yep.." Lucas nodded. "Tree Hill prom is next week.."

"So what.. you asking me out.." He laughed. "Wait.. did Haley say something?"

"No.. but she's going to be there with me .. as friends of course but I wouldn't be opposed for someone to take her from me.. you up for it?"

He looked at Lucas curiously," I don't know what games you're playing but in case you forgot.. I don't go to Tree Hill anymore.."

"I know that.. but how do you feel about going with Brooke?"

"Brooke Davis?"

"The one and only.. so what do you say Damien.. you in?"

Damien smirked. "Well, Brooke is hot too.. and Haley will be there.. I guess it's win win all around."

"I'm glad we're on the same page West.." Lucas smiled.

To Be Continued . . . .

I wish I could add some sort of dramatic music but I'd love to hear you thoughts about Naley, Nathan/Lucas.. please review so I can post the next chapter up already !!!


	30. Chapter 30

Winners and Losers

Chapter 30

Thank you guys for all the reviews. They really made my day, I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, life got in the way and then internet issues. Like I said before, I don't really want to give too much information, but something big will be revealed in this chapter so without further ado, here's it is. Italics are flashbacks, again sorry for any misspellings and stuff, it's 1 am and i'm tired, lol.

P.S. Who thinks it sucks that we're not getting any new episodes this month! Totally blows and what about a season 7?

Please review ..

. . . . .

"_You're not coming?" Lucas asked over the phone._

"_What for?" Haley said nonchalantly. _

"_To cheer me on of course.." _

"_What am I now, you're cheerleader?" _

"_Come on, what else do you have to do tonight?"_

"_Umm.. I can watch some basketball.." Haley teased._

"_Yeah, exactly.. so you want me to get you and we can go to the Rivercourt together?"_

"_Well.. if you drop me off at school.."_

"_At school?" Lucas asked confused, but then he realized that the Ravens were going to play tonight. "Ohh.. damn it Haley.. you nearly got me … why on earth would you watch a Ravens game?"_

"_What? I can't have some school spirit?" Haley said sarcastically. _

"_I'm not saying that.. I seem to recall your exuberant cheering when Mouth won at debate club.."_

_Haley rolled her eyes and switched the phone to her other ear. "At least this time, they'll be a bigger audience than just me and you.."_

"_Haley.. you at a basketball game.. do you even know what's going on?"_

"_Well.. I know you shoot the ball through the hole thingy .."_

"_Basket, Hales.. that's why they call it _basket ball.."

"_So you're making fun of me now but yet you want me to watch you play basketball.."_

"_Aww come on Hales…"_

_Haley laughed over the phone. "Luke.. go have fun.. tell the guys I said hi and we'll hang out tomorrow.."_

"_Okay.. fine.." Lucas grumbled over the phone. _

_Haley hung up a minute later. She looked at her reflection for a minute before finally getting up and grabbing her jacket._

"_Haley.. dear .. where are you off to?" Her mom asked as she saw Haley fly down the stairs._

"_Just going to watch some basketball.." Haley smiled as she stepped out of the house. It wasn't long before she arrived at school and entered the packed gym. _

_. . . . ._

"Ms. James, would you follow me?"

"Ok, thanks." Haley said as she stood up and followed the nurse.

"Is this your first time here?" The nurse asked.

"Yeah.. it is.." Haley replied nervously. With each step and with each door they passed, she got more and more nervous. "Umm.. how.. how is she?"

"She's not my patient but I have seen her around.. I guess she's okay.. like many of our patients.. they have their good days and their bad.." The nurse turned the corner and Haley followed her.

"She's right in here.." The nurse pointed to the door.

"Thank you.." Haley said as the nurse walked away. Haley took a deep breath and was about to knock but something stopped her. She shook her head and tried to get a grip, she summoned her courage and this time knocked.

"Come in.." She heard a familiar voice said.

Haley took another deep breath and turned the knob. Taylor stood up from her bed and eyed her little sister curiously.

"Haley-bop?"

_. . . ._

_The gym was packed, she'd never seen so many people here. Haley should've paid more attention at school, apparently they were facing was some big rival school. She could already hear the roar of the crowd, the sound of the ball dribbling and the scores of players running around the court. Making her way through the crowd, she finally saw who she came here for. _

_He looked amazing and Haley couldn't help but admire his toned physique. Haley was enthralled by him, the way he moved on the court, graceful but powerful, his body flexing at just the right places, the sweat pouring down from his brow. She didn't know much about the game even though she watched it countless of times but it didn't matter to her. All that matter was him and her heart broke once more. For the past few years, this was her only glimpse into him, from a distance. She smiled when he scored another basket, another point for number 23, Nathan Scott. _

. . . .

"Haley-bop?" Taylor eyed her sister curiously.

"Hey Tay.." Haley looked at her sister. It has been nearly a year since the last time she seen her, let alone talk to her. The tension in the room was thick and both sisters were at a loss over what to do or say next.

"Mom and dad aren't here.." Taylor said casually as she sat back against the headboard.

"I.. I know.. they're visiting Quinn.." Haley said nervously as she stepped inside and sat at a nearby chair.

"Umm.. Haley-bop.. I don't want to sound like a bitch but what're you doing here?"

"What I can't see my sister?" Haley defended herself although she knew the argument was weak.

"You could've seen me plenty of times before.."

I know.. I'm .. I'm sorry I've never visited before.. I feel terrible about it.."

"No you don't.." Taylor laughed. "Sorry Haley, you're a nice girl but you're here for something so why don't you just spill it.."

"What makes you think I want something?"

"Let me see.. the last time I talked to mom and dad.. they let me on that you're dating a certain Ravens basketball star.."

"Oh.. they told you.."

"Yeah.. they did.. I'm sure Lucas is thrilled about that.."

. . . . .

_She knew it was wrong to be here but she couldn't move. She stood off to the sides, making sure that Nathan couldn't see her. That was the last thing she needed. As if it wasn't pathetic enough that she came here behind her best friend's back to oogle over his half brother. Pathetic was exactly how Haley felt at the moment. He ended things with her, he walked away from her and she couldn't exactly blame him. He was patient with her, more like a saint. He wanted to go public with their relationship, but she couldn't. She didn't know how to tell Lucas that she was in love with his brother. _

_The problem was that she was still in love, in fact it only gotten worse. They say time heals all wounds but for her the wound kept getting deeper and bigger. They were brief times when they passed by the hall and all she got from him were a cold glance. To the rest of the world, they were just two students at Tree Hill and that hurt her knowing that it was much more than that. But then they were other times, time when she wasn't paying attention, when from the corner of her eye she saw him glancing at her. _

_She thought she was crazy at first and dismissed it, but one day she sat outside by herself waiting for Lucas to arrive. She busied herself by reading a book for class. From the corner of her eye, she felt his gaze. She didn't know how, but she just felt it and when she glanced up, she saw him. She tried her best to play it off, as if she was still reading, and she was elated to know that he was looking at her. The moment didn't last long though, Lucas came up and sat with her and when she looked up, he was gone. _

_. . . ._

"Yeah.. they did.. I'm sure Lucas is thrilled about that.." Taylor said sarcastically.

Haley shook her head, the last person she wanted to think about right now is Lucas.

"He was … shocked.." Haley said carefully. "But I guess you had the same reaction.."

"Both times.." Taylor responded and a silence engulfed the room. Taylor studied her sister, not a look of surprise on her.

"I guess he told you.." Taylor said softly.

"You .. you knew about us back then.."

"I caught him sneaking inside the house on more than one occasion.. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on.."

"Nothing was going on." Haley was quick to interrupt.

"Right.."

"Look, Tay … I know okay.."

"Know what?" Taylor asked even though she knew what it was.

"The baby.." She said softly. "The abortion."

". . . ."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Haley asked.

"I haven't talked about it in two years.. why would I now.." Taylor shrugged.

"Who else knows about this?"

"I guess you and loverboy.. unless the two of you blabbed it to the world.."

"Dammit Tay.. this is serious.."

"And it's my life .. my choice.. so would you just quit it .. there's nothing you can do !!"

"But was it.. was .. was it your choice?" Haley asked firmly.

. . . . .

_Nathan scored again. He pumped his fist in victory, tonight was one of his better nights. He looked up at the stands and saw the disappointing look of his father. Nathan shook his head, what the hell was wrong with his dad. He had already scored 16 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds and the Ravens were up by 13 points. He didn't understand him, but part of him did. Nathan realized long ago that nothing he did would ever be good enough. Even in his best game, Dan only gave a curt congratulatory remark then just as quickly he pointed out his faults of the game. Nothing was ever good enough for Dan Scott. _

_It was times like these that he hated the game, hated everything basketball represented. But for all it's worth, it was also one of his means of escape, especially from Dan. Running down the court, he felt something different about tonight. He felt like someone was looking at him, well of course people were looking at him. His own father was still glaring at him like he did something wrong, but something was different, that much Nathan could tell. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a pair of familiar brown eyes. _

_Nathan shook his head as he tried to get back into the game. She couldn't be here even though he wanted her to be. On the court, nothing mattered, he was free that was until Dan started upping the pressure on him and made him wish for something else, or rather someone else. It wasn't a surprise his mind turned to Haley, his one true escape. There were days were he couldn't get her out of his head, other days just a passing random thought. Yet, there hasn't been a day that has gone by since they were last together that he didn't think of her. He resigned to himself that she would always occupy his heart and hopefully one day after the madness that was Tree Hill high school was over, he could be worthy of her once more._

. . . .

"But was it.. was .. was it your choice?" Haley asked firmly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Taylor asked.

"I know what happened .. the night before.. you were at Quentin Field's party .."

Taylor shook her head and looked down. "He really did tell you everything… what do you want Haley?"

"I want you to answer me .. did Nathan.." Haley couldn't bring herself to say the words.

"Did Nathan what?"

"You know what.." She looked away from Taylor. "Did.. did he make you do it?"

"Like I'd let the ramblings of drunken freshmen dictate my life.." Taylor scoffed.

"Tay.. this isn't funny.."

"No.. it isn't.. and no I didn't do it just cuz I had one conversation with your boyfriend.."

"Ex-boyfriend.." Haley clarified.

"So this is what's this is about .. you two what broke up over me.. I'm touched."

"Can you be like serious for like 5 minutes of your life.. you've put me through hell these past few years.."

"You? Excuse me? Saint Haley's life is a little rough and suddenly I'm to blame."

"Stop being dramatic Taylor and grow up .. do you know how we all had to sacrifice just for you .. for what huh… so you can drink yourself to a stupor time and time again .. that mom and dad or any of our brothers and sisters have to bail you out .. life is already hard Taylor and you just make it harder!"

"Who know my little sister had a backbone?"

"I'm still wondering if my big sister has a heart.." Haley countered and this time the words hurt.

"I made the appointment days before I went in.. okay.. you happy.. Nathan Scott did not run my life.. but.." Taylor stopped as a tear fell down her cheeks.

"But he did call out on my bullshit .. I already knew I would make a terrible mother.." The tears flowed more this time. "He just reinforced it.."

. . . .

_The Ravens won and Haley couldn't be more happier for Nathan. He deserved to be happy even if it wasn't with her. She wondered if they would ever find their way but she knew he had already moved on. With each girl he hung out with, another piece of her heart broke. She hated to be a jealous bitch but that was what she had turned to. Her heart craved for him, so much so that it scared her. Her need to be with him once more was becoming less and less bearable with each day. She had to do something, anything._

_. . . ._

"But he did call out on my bullshit .. I already knew I would make a terrible mother.." The tears flowed more this time. "He just reinforced it.."

Haley sat there in silent while she took her sister's words in. It took a moment for her to respond.

"Just because you thought that didn't mean you were going to be.. and just because you ended it doesn't make you a terrible person either…"

"How would you know?" Taylor wiped her eyes.

"Because it's so clear to me now why you're here.. why you keep going back here.. you've always had a sort of fun rebellious side Tay.. but even this isn't you.. you're punishing yourself .."

"Whatever.." Taylor mumbled. "Not like I don't deserve it.."

"Maybe you're right.. maybe not.. it's not for us to decide.. but what you need to do is make peace with it Tay .. you need to forgive yourself.."

"Why should I?"

"Because I forgive you.." Haley sighed.

"Why.. why are you doing this.. why are you being so nice?"

"Like you said.. I'm a nice girl.." Haley mocked. "Look Tay.. despite everything .. you're still my sister.. I already seen first hand what happens between two siblings who can't get along.. I don't want that with you.. life is too short you know .. plus if I were in your place.. I would want someone on my side.."

Taylor gave a small smile and nodded, her head was still trying to process the whole situation and then just like that a light bulb went off in her head.

"Oh my God!" Taylor suddenly exclaimed.

"What?"

"Haley-bop.. please.. don't.. don't tell me.."

"Tell you what?"

"Are.. are you pregnant?"

. . . .

"_Good game tonight, coach." Keith said._

"_Thanks, Keith.. I would like to celebrate it by going to bed.. so where the hell are you taking me?"_

"_Relax old man.. we're here.." Keith said as he put his car on park. He parked a little whiles away so that no one could see them but they could still see what was going on._

"_What do we have here? A bunch of kids playing pick up ball.. take me home already will you?" Whitey complained._

_Keith just laughed. "Look.. I just wanted to show you that you may not have all the best guys on the team.." Keith said as he looked out on the group of guys playing._

_This time Whitey took a closer look and was impressed by the way these guys were playing, a little rough on the edges but they definitely had talent, a blond boy in particular caught his eye. _

"_Well.. well what do we have here.." Whitey said._

_. . . _

_Haley walked home, trying to get the image of all these girls and cheerleaders throwing themselves over Nathan out of her head. Once again she was reduced to being your typical jealous ex-girlfriend, if she could even call herself that. Her and Nathan didn't really have a title, it didn't last that long to see what could've happened. She wished she could just talk to him, to be with him, to touch him to kiss him. She wanted all these things but knew it could never happen. There was still the way he left her and although she wanted him, he broke her heart as well. At the same time there was still Lucas to consider. He was her best friend and going behind his back before was hard enough, she couldn't do it again, or so she thought._

_She slowed down her speed as she got closer to her house and she could clearly make out someone waiting for her. _

"_Nathan?" Haley asked looking at him. _

"_I thought I saw you at the game.."_

"_I .. I wasn't at the game.." Haley lied, she didn't know why but the smug look on his face, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She already felt pretty pathetic tonight._

"_Right.." He smirked, unconvinced. "You're a terrible liar, Hales.."_

"_Don't.. don't call me that .. you don't know me .. at least not anymore.."_

_He looked at her curiously. "I'd like to think I do know you.. better than most people know cuz I know that you know me.. I feel sometimes that you're the only person that does.." He said softly and even he was surprised at himself. He cursed to himself though, he shouldn't be here but tonight but he got weak and he had to see her. This was a mistake coming here, he couldn't get close to her, not again no matter how much he missed her, wanted her, loved her. He had to take it back, had to pull away for his sake as well as hers._

_Haley looked at him, a little surprised to hear the sincerity in his voice and it took every ounce in her not to run up to him and kiss him. But the moment had passed and once again he was back to being his usual asshole-self. _

_"But if you want to get to know me better.. I got the backseat of my car.." He smirked and Haley narrowed her eyes and shook his head. She walked by him and marched into her house. She couldn't believe the nerve of him but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel heated for a different reason. She hated to admit it but seeing him tonight and talking to him made her want him even more. His words replayed over in her mind and knew he was telling the truth. After all this time apart, they could still read each other like a book. She realized that he was trying to push her away but she couldn't deny the look he had, the look of longing and desire he had for her. She bit her lip and couldn't help but smile knowing that he wanted her too._

_After that she tried not to think about him, tried to block him from her mind but she couldn't. Her need for him kept growing and so was her fear of being lost with him, fear of getting hurt. At school, she could clearly see him staring at her. If she thought she was imagining it before, this time it was for real. At times, he didn't even attempt to look away or play it off. She decided that she needed a way to be with him but hadn't figured out how. She opened her top drawer from her dresser and pulled out the birth control pills her mother insisted she get once Haley started to menstruate. She never used them before, never had a need to until now. If she wanted to get with Nathan, she would need to cover all her bases, she told herself as she started to take the pills. _

_A few weeks later, an opportunity presented itself to Haley when Lucas was offered a spot on the team with Nathan hell bent on stopping him. A game was to be played on the River court, if Nathan wins, then Lucas is out of the team. Haley knew how good of a player Nathan was and decided then and there that she would do everything she could to make sure Lucas would win that game. _

. . . .

"Are.. are you pregnant?" Taylor asked nervously.

"What.. no!" Haley shook her head.

"Haley-bop!" Taylor said in a firmer tone. "You're dating Nathan Scott and knowing him and the fact that we've been talking about pregnancies and abortions.. so I'm asking you again.. are you pregnant?"

"And I'm telling you again that no, I'm not."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes.. I .. I had a nightmare not too long ago.. I took a pregnancy test the next day.. actually three .. they were all false okay.. besides you know mom .. she gave me birth control pills when I was only a freshmen.."

"Okay.. good.." Taylor sighed in relief. "Look Haley-bop.. thank.. thank you for coming.."

"I'm sorry for not coming sooner.." Haley went over and hugged her sister. "Remember that if you need anything.."

Taylor smiled. "Thanks and I'm sorry for everything.."

"It's okay Taylor.. I forgive you.. just please get better.."

"I .. I will this time…" Taylor promised, something she hoped to keep.

The two chatted for a little bit longer before Haley had to leave. As Haley drove back home she started to think about what happened, especially about forgiving her sister. She felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulder but she still had other things to deal with. If she could forgive her sister, then maybe she can find a way to forgive the only boy she ever truly loved.

To Be Continued . . . .

So I wasn't so sure about this chapter but once I started typing it started going and in the end I am pleased with it. I never wanted Haley to be pregnant in this story, but reading some people's comments I decided to play that angle and putting it in with my general framework for the story it fit well. I should've mentioned earlier that Haley was on the pill but still used condoms in the beginning just to be sure but I never put that in the story so I wrote that in, in this chapter. Like I said I don't want to give anything away but even though Haley isn't pregnant, there are still some issues with that. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed and please review!!


	31. Chapter 31

Winners and Losers

Chapter 31

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. What I wanted to show last chapter was how Haley was so caught up with Nathan, how she put everything else aside for him so for him to hurt her like that just sent her reeling. It doesn't mean she doesn't love him but that she needs time. Anyways sorry for the delay things got busy and I got inspired to update The Mourning After, so please check that story out if you haven't. I'm not a 100 percent on this chapter because it's one of those "transitional" type chapters but I am pleased with how the chapter ended, you should recognize a scene here from the show.

So there is a season 7 of OTH !! Yay, sad news is that Leyton might not be back, which totally sucks. I can see one person going but two will be hard, but as long as there is Naley, I'm still there !! Hopefully, they'll make them more of the prime focus now. I can totally see Haley getting fired from her job and heading up the record label in Tree Hill for Peyton or she is still a teacher and also doing the music thing. I think it'll help flush Haley's character out more instead of just a mom and wife. Either way I cant wait for one more season of Naley. I do hope that Leyton will make an appearance or two in season 7. I believe what season 7 will be the last and I am at peace with that. What is great is that after 4 seasons of not knowing if they would make it back on the air that at the 6th season they get an early green light for season 7. I hope as fans of the show that we will continue to support it. I just hope they divide the time appropriately between the surviving three and not make it into One Brooke Hill. I have no problems with Brooke or Sophia but lately it seems as if they are really over hyping her character up, which after a few episodes is getting a little tired. Yes, I know Brooke is great yada yada but please let's not forget about everyone else. Like I said before, I think letting Haley took over the music aspect of the show if Peyton does leave will be great for Haley to have her own storyline, follow her dreams and can still be a mom and wife. The thing that sucks is that I don't want someone like Mouth to be more prominent. Sorry Mouth, I like you as a supporting actor, not the main cast. The thing that sucks is that Leyton leaving will definitely create a huge hole in the show. But nothing is definite yet and I am hoping for the best that all core 5 will be back, but if not I will place my trust in Mark (albeit a little hesitant) that he will give us an awesome season 7.

Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter, please review !!

. . . .

Haley was annoyed, that much she figured. She couldn't put her finger on it but there was something about the way Lucas was acting so nonchalantly that didn't settle well with her. Did he suddenly have amnesia and forgotten about all the events of the past few weeks? He wasn't acting mean or harsh like he used to but at the same time he wasn't acting like saint either. There was a certain swagger to his movement and a cockiness to his speech. She'd seen this before, recognize the look of indifference anywhere. Lucas Scott and Nathan Scott were more alike than both would ever recognize or admit, she thought to herself.

At the end of school, they were called into Principal Tuner's office. There, he gave them a debit card, which they were going to use to pay for supplies and decorations for the upcoming Junior prom. It seemed that Tree Hill's most respectable and honorable students were the perfect candidates to handle the prom's finances for the big event.

After Haley's visit with Taylor, she didn't have time to think about dealing with Lucas. In fact, she totally forgot about it until her homeroom teacher reminded her meeting with Turner earlier in the morning. She felt bad for not visiting her sister sooner, but she couldn't help it. She was angry at her sister and the two never seemed meet eye to eye. But she was glad that she met with Taylor and the two finally talked. She witnessed first hand the depths and pain sibling rivalry can go and didn't want the same thing to happen to her and her sister.

She could still remember when they were younger, when her pet turtle Shelley died. Being only ten years old at the time, it was the most devastating thing to happen to Haley. She lost her first pet and her sister so callously flushed it down the toilet. As sad as that day was for Haley, it was also a day she would always remember for different reasons. From the lost of her precious pet, another person entered her heart and never left. She could still remember crying about it on the beach, the sun shining in her face, the sounds of birds flying above her and the waves crashing down. She was comforted by the only person that could ever give her true peace. It was the day that Nathan Scott kissed her and in that simple, innocent moment, they gave each other their first kiss but it would be years later when they both realized the significance of that moment.

Although Haley was still upset about the whole abortion thing with Taylor, she was slightly relieved to know that Nathan was not the reason why Taylor did it. She was, however, disappointed in the way Nathan handled the situation and how malicious he was when he talked to her sister. He may not have pushed Taylor into doing it but he didn't help matters either. Instead of trying to talk some sense into Taylor, he only fed her fears and trepidations.

Dealing with Nathan Scott was at times dealing with two different but the same person. There was the Nathan Scott she remembered from that day on the beach, kind, warm, caring. The guy who loved her with all his heart, who made her smile, who made her feel safe, and with one look from him, he managed to take her breath away. But then there was another side to him, a darker side, fed by the insecurities and doubt passed on from father to son. She remembered the way he treated his brother, how he treated Taylor, how he treated her after their first break up. Nathan Scott roamed the halls as king of Tree Hill and although he wasn't a bully per-say, he had his minions of blind followers do his dirty work and he didn't do anything to stop it.

He had two sides and Haley couldn't help but love both. It's sad but true but Haley long resigned to herself that deep down she liked the bad boy types. Maybe it was because they were so opposite of her own personality that she needed someone to balance her out. Whatever the case maybe, her heart still longed for him but the fear of being hurt and once again slipping under his spell caused her walls to come back up.

She took a small step forward by resolving her issues with her sister and maybe now she could deal with the other Scott in her life. She felt awkward in front of Lucas during their meeting with Principal Turner but yet she didn't sense any of that from him. It was weird to say the least. The two walked out of the office and Lucas offered to drive, not a hint of emotion in his voice. They stopped by the caterers to give them their deposit and now they were at a party supply warehouse, gathering silver wear for the party.

"This is it right?" Lucas asked as he picked up the plate and held it up against the picture Brooke gave him of it.

"I guess.. why do we even care, didn't Brooke place the order?" Haley tried not to roll her eyes. They were just here to pay the bill, the prom committee should've taken care of the rest.

"Yeah, but she told me to make sure they put down the correct one, the last thing I need is to have her on my back for ruining something so simple as the plates.."

"I guess she's your new best friend huh?" Haley said softly but with a tone of bitterness.

"What was that?" Lucas whipped his head around.

"Nothing." She quickly mumbled.

"That didn't sound like nothing." Lucas raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. He had been waiting for some sort of reaction from Haley ever since they left school. He knew that Haley messed up by lying to him but at the same time, he hasn't exactly been exactly innocent in all this either. Over the past few days, he had to reevaluate his recent actions and perceptions of what he thought about Haley and most of all Nathan. Ever since the night Whitey left them out on the road, he hadn't looked at his half brother the same.

Nathan was still the same cocky, arrogant son of a bitch but he was surprised to find that Nathan had a heart and that heart belonged with person he was with now. It was weird to see any sort of emotion coming out from Nathan besides a threatening look or a mocking laugh. Yet, Lucas saw the pain in his eyes from being away from Haley, the way his face beamed when he talked about Her. It was strange for Lucas to think that Nathan was actually human.

Then there was the whole HCM mess he also had to deal with. Quite frankly, ignorance was doing him good at the moment. He still hadn't heard any results back and luckily for him they were going to call his cell phone not his houseline where his mom could pick up. He didn't even want to think about what might happen if he actually had HCM. His whole world would be turned upside down once again. He could kiss basketball goodbye, which Lucas feared considering that he had played the game since he could remember. There was also the fact that he was a Raven now and although it started out as hell it eventually became a lot better. Then there was Nathan in all this. Lucas was annoyed at him for dragging him all the way to the clinic to take the test when Nathan himself didn't take it. Yet the bigger question that Lucas did not dare want to answer was why he found himself caring.

"You have something to say about Brooke?" Lucas asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"I have nothing against the head cheerleader, prom chair and overall Queen Bee of Tree Hill.." Haley said sarcastically. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. The last thing she wanted was to get into another row with Lucas but after dealing with her sister, her Pandora's box of emotions opened up and she couldn't hold back what she was feeling anymore.

"Not a big fan of Brooke, I take it." Lucas said cautiously. He knew that she was probably more pissed at him than Brooke.

"No.. Brooke is fine.. I mean it's great you're dating her.."

"We're not dating.." Lucas was quick to blurt out. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what he and Brooke were. Were they friends, were they more, he honestly didn't know. The chemistry was definitely there but he had never been with someone so animated and forthcoming, he wasn't sure what to do and figured his best course of action would just go with the flow.

"Right.. like I said, she's captain of the squad, the most popular girl at school.. I mean it's great you can hang be _friends_ with someone like her."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucas' voice grow a little louder.

"I'm saying you're a hypocrite." Haley glared at him.

"How the hell am I a hypocrite?"

"Take a good look Lucas .. God the only difference between her and Nathan is that I'm not related to her."

"So that's what this is about."

"No, this is about how you can do whatever the hell you want to but God forbid I hang out, let alone date someone in the _in crowd..._"

"That's different.. you lied about! For years Haley, don't try to rewrite history."

"What would have happened if I told sooner anyways huh? You would've still acted the same way. Yes I know keeping it from you was a mistake, one that I am deeply sorry for and something I apologized a million times over but you just keep hanging that over my head and did you ever once think how hard it was for me."

Lucas bit his tongue. He wasn't going to let her have it again, he already did that. She glared at him for a moment longer before she turned around and walked out the store. Lucas stood there for a moment, composing himself before he went outside to follow her.

"This was a mistake.. I'm going home." Haley said once she saw Lucas walking to her.

"It'll take you at least an hour to walk back.. would you just wait up." Lucas called out.

"Why should I?" Haley whipped her head around.

There were so many times in Lucas' life that he had taken the high road. When his father abandoned him, him and his mom took it in stride, despite the pain. When his brother came after him, he held back. Lately, he hadn't acted that way. When the world pushed him too hard, he finally pushed back but now he had a chance right here to switch course and finally take the high road back.

"Because I'm sorry." Lucas said sincerely, finding the words coming out a lot easier than he thought it would be.

Haley looked at him curiously, as if not believing him.

"You can believe me or not but I am Haley, I am sorry."

"So now your sorry." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes.." Lucas bit back. "I'm not sorry for being mad at you .. you hurt me in the worst way but as angry as I was, there were some things I shouldn't have said .. I should've gave you the benefit of the doubt to explain yourself instead of throwing it back in your face.."

Haley's demeanor softened a little. "I.. I never meant to hurt you… I'm sorry." She looked down.

"I wanted to hurt you and for that I'm sorry too." Lucas gave her a small smile.

"So what do we do now?" Haley asked a moment later.

"We accept each other's apologies and realize that we've both made mistakes… and I guess just take things one step at a time.. we've been through so much together you know.."

Haley smiled. "Yeah.. I know .. I guess we'll just take things slowly.."

Lucas nodded but couldn't help but start to chuckle.

"What?" Haley asked.

"Nothing.. it's just that we sound like some old married people .. no wonder people thought we were going out.."

"Eww… no .. dating one Scott is good enough for me." Haley tried to joke but as soon as the words came out, she wished she hadn't said it. They stood there awkwardly for a second, the big bad pink elephant was back in the room.

"Too soon?" They both said at the same time and they both couldn't help but laugh a little more. They went back inside and finished the rest of their errands in comfortable silence.

"Why are we here?" Haley asked as they walked up the stairs. They finished their errands for the prom but Lucas insisted that they stop by his mom's café.

"It's still a little early and I was hoping that maybe we can hit the links.." Lucas smiled as he opened the door and Haley's mouth dropped when she saw the home made miniature golf course in front of her.

"I .. I thought you got rid of it.."

"I was going to but when I took most of it down.. it didn't look right.. it didn't feel right so .. I ..umm.. I put it back." Lucas smiled and reached over to hand her a putter.

Haley smiled back and nodded. There were no words needed between the two of them, this gesture alone tugged at her heart and she smiled to herself knowing that they would eventually be okay. They still had a ways to go before they fully let each other back in their lives but this was definitely one big step in the right direction.

"So.." Haley put her putter over her shoulder. They just went through a couple of rounds. "As much as I'm enjoying the no fighting and arguing." She sighed. "I have to ask.. why the change of heart?"

He looked at her for a moment. "Honestly.. it's Nathan."

"Nathan?"

"I'm sure you heard about how Whitey kicked me and him off the bus."

"Yeah.. after the game I helped Mouth in."

"Yeah.." Lucas gave a nervous chuckle, thinking about that night and the next day when Nathan kidnapped him to take the HCM test. "Let's just say that after that we got to spend some time together.. and …" He paused, trying to come up with the right words.

"And what?"

"I realized that he had a heart.. and that.. that it was more fragile than I thought."

Haley only nodded, not wanting to know more. Dealing with one Scott today was already enough.

. . . .

Nathan waited outside by the doors, hiding behind one of the pillars. Once he saw her walk out the doors, he made his move. He stepped out and "accidentally" bumped into Haley.

"Oh sorry.." He mumbled as Haley's books fell on the floor.

"Oh it's probably my fault .. I can be such a…" So caught off guard by the whole thing, she didn't realize who bumped into her until she saw the pair of dark blue eyes staring back up at her. ".. klutz.." She said the last part slowly. He got up from his knees, offering her fallen books back to her, a warm small across his incredibly handsome face. It wasn't a smirk or a knowing grin, but an genuine smile, something Haley knew she liked, something she would like to see again and something that gave her great pleasure in knowing that that smile was because of her. Snapping out of her thoughts. She quickly snatched the book from him and took a step back.

"Thanks.." She mumbled as she tried to not look into his longing eyes.

"You're welcome." He said as he put his hands in his pocket. He was suddenly nervous as an awkward silence descended on them.

"So.." He started to speak.

"I have to get to class." She quickly blurted out.

Nathan nodded slowly, trying to hide his disappointment but doing a bad job at it. "Yeah.. of course…"

"I'll see you around." She mumbled as she maneuvered around him.

"I miss you." He said as he took a step to the side in an attempt to block Haley from moving forward. She was about to protest, but he quickly added. "I just wanted you to know." He said and the two locked eyes for a moment their gaze deep and heavy. He leaned in closer to her and mouth was just inches from his face. Whispering in her ears, "I'm not going anywhere." He said softly before taking another step back to let her pass.

His hot breath against his skin alone was enough to set her body ablaze and his words sent chills down her spine. It amazed her how much she felt when she was around him. Unable to speak, she simply nodded before slowly walking away. She didn't trust herself at the moment and the best thing for her was to keep walking forward. Still, she felt his gaze on her and she stopped for a second to let her look back and sure enough he was still there and that alone seemed to have calmed her.

"Hey.." Another Scott broke her out of her thoughts.

"Oh Hi Luke.."

"Going to class?" He asked and she nodded.

. . . . .

"I'm not a cop or anything but I'm pretty sure that stalking is illegal." Brooke said as she walked up next to Nathan.

"Huh?" Nathan looked over at Brooke. Her presence and the fact that she distracted him from ogling over Haley's ass bounced as she walked away instantly annoyed him.

"I saw you just now.. the whole fake run in thing? Didn't think you would stoop so low."

"What d you want Brooke?" He barked.

"Damn, what crawled up your ass this morning?" Brooke laughed.

"Whatever.." He mumbled as his eyes once again scanned the crowd to look for Haley. He saw her in the distance but this time she wasn't alone. She was with Lucas.

"I hope you told Millicent not to throw away my designs." Brooke spoke up once she followed Nathan's gaze and saw who he was looking at. "I paired them up to help with prom.. Turner let them take care of the money.."

"So they're working together?" Nathan asked.

"And from what Lucas told me briefly this morning, they are slowly starting talking to each other again."

"That's.. that's good." Nathan swallowed a lump in his throat.

"You can thank me by buying my clothes ten years from now when I decide to step into men's fashion and develop my own male line."

"A little ahead of yourself, don't you think but relax you should be hearing something back from Milli soon."

"Oh yay." Brooke clapped her hands.

"So this prom thing.." Nathan interrupted her excitement. "Is.. is she going?"

"Yep, she has to."

Nathan nodded, having no interest in ever going to such an event before but the thought of seeing Halley all dressed up was motivation enough.

"But Nathan, I should warn you."

"Warn me?"

"Damien is also going?"

_Damien?,_ Nathan looked at her confused before he realized who she was referring to. "Damien West." He gritted his teeth.

To Be Continued. . . .

I hope you enjoyed, the next few chapters will be pivotal and of course we have the prom next chapter. I hope you guys all like jealous Nathan, please review !!!


	32. Chapter 32

Winners and Losers

Chapter 32

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated sooner. Real life took over and is probably going to consume me for at least the next month. My roommate and best friend is moving away in a few weeks and so I've been busy doing farewell parties and so on and so forth, so after he leaves I'll unfortunately have more time to myself but at least I'll get to write more. I hope you enjoy, but I already know what to put in next chapter so I hope to update sooner than later, please review !!!

. . . .

Lucas dribbled the ball in his hands, running plays in his head. As hard as it was joining the Ravens, he really was enjoying himself. Most of the guys were finally gave him a break and he even managed to form tentative friendships with some of the guys on the team. All the games and practices really showed him how much he loved the game. Even now all alone in the River Court, running left to right, imagining that there was an opponent guarding him. He faked right and then left and went up to the basket. Attempting to dunk, he miscalculated and the ball ended up hitting the rim and then flying behind him.

He landed on his feet and cursed to himself that he didn't make the dunk. Before he could turn around to retrieve the ball, he heard the distinct sounds of footsteps approaching. He turned around and saw an angry Nathan holding the basketball in his hands. Lucas was about to say something when Nathan hurled the ball towards him with all his strength.

Lucas caught it but not without the wind getting sucked out from his chest. _That was some throw_, he thought to himself. He hoped he didn't crack a rib.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Lucas muttered out, clutching his chest. In a second, Nathan was in his face and pinned him up against the basketball pole.

"My problem?!" Nathan mocked. "You have some fucking nerve."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lucas choked out.

"Damien West!" Nathan gritted his teeth. "Why the fuck is he going to prom?"

Lucas smirked to himself, of course this had to be about him. "You think this is funny!?" Nathan tightened his grip.

"Why.. feeling threatened?" Lucas replied, gasping for air. This time, Nathan let him go but not before pushing Lucas angrily against the pole once more.

"Threatened?! Please, West has nothing on me and neither do you!"

"You sure aint acting like it." Lucas said, straightening his shirt.

"This is all some big fucking joke to you huh? What the hell are you up to?"

"So he's going .. big deal.. it's not like he's going with Haley.. although maybe she'll end up leaving with him."

As soon as Lucas finished the sentence, Nathan had him pinned once more. Lucas laughed, somehow finding humor in the situation. "I never thought I'd see the great Nathan Scott so jealous." Lucas managed to get out.

Nathan let go of him and took a few steps back and looked away. He was an emotional wreck. He was angry, hurt, sad, lonely, all this feelings were bubbling to the surface and he didn't know how much more he can take. Of course Damien West was going to his prom, he figured everything else was going wrong for him.

"I can't loose her." He said softly as he bent down and picked the basketball back up. He walked towards the three point line, slowly dribbling the ball as he went. He turned around and took the shot, nothing but net.

"There's only three things in the world I'm sure of .. one is basketball .. and the second is Haley." Nathan said as he picked up the ball and took another shot, of course going in effortlessly. Lucas walked out onto the court and eyed his half brother curiously.

"What's the third?"

"Besides the fact that you're a tool." Nathan smirked as he took another shot and Lucas rolled his eyes. Nathan picked up the ball again, but this time, stopping it on the ground, his right foot holding the ball in place on the ground.

"I can live without the game .. but not Haley.." He looked down and shook his head. "I tried once already and I'm not going to do it again.. she belongs with me and you can go ahead and pimp her out to whatever losers you find but at the end of the day, it's going to be me and her and not you or fucking Damien West is going to ever change that." Nathan said defiantly.

Lucas crossed his arms. "Okay." He said simply. Nathan raised his eyebrow.

"Okay? That's all you have to say."

"Look, it took a me a while to realize that Haley is a big girl .. old enough to make her mistakes without me holding her hand .. I'll have her back no matter which _loser_ she wants to be with." No way in hell Lucas was going to let Nathan get one over him. "And if she wants to be with you then fine.. or fucking Damien West then so be it .. but she has to choose .. and if you want her.. really want her .. then get her."

"So now you want us together?" Nathan couldn't believe what he was hearing and he thought women were complicated.

"I want her to be happy .. and it seems that Damien does that for her.. but for some ungodly reason that I will never know, you also make her happy .. really happy actually.. I see that now but she's scared to open her heart and I know I'm partly to blame for that.. so I'm doing my best to try and make it up to her."

"By shoving Damien West in front of her."

"Yes.." He said simply. "And if that means you can finally get up off your ass and go after her then I'm fine with that too." Lucas looked at Nathan, the confusion set in his eyes. Lucas ran his hand through his sweat slicked hair and took a deep breath. "I believe that you're an ass and full of shit but not with Haley and that you would never intentionally hurt her."

"I won't."

"Then let her know that .. you're problem isn't Damien West or me .. it's you .. you managed to convince me .. it's time to convince her."

Nathan simply nodded and kicked the ball back towards Lucas. Lucas picked it up and held it tightly in his hands.

"What if she doesn't .." Nathan shook his head, he couldn't even formulate the words, it made him sick.

"If she doesn't.." Lucas spoke up. "and if you really do truly care for her and love her.. you should do the best thing for her."

"Which is what?"

"Let her go."

. . . . .

"I'm going to kill you!" Brooke grabbed Lucas' shirt.

"Umm.. ticket please." Lucas choked out. It seemed like everyone wanted to choke him lately. He wasn't surprised though. Lucas was manning the front door when a very angry Brooke came walking up to him, grabbing his shirt and yanking him off his seat. He never knew Brooke had such strength.

"Don't be cute." Brooke rolled her eyes as she let him go and Lucas sat back down on his seat.

"That bad?"

"Ohh.. you so owe me .. Damien is still as big of an ass as I remember.."

"Speaking of which, where is he?"

"Parking.. I couldn't wait to get out of that car."

"Who's car?" Haley asked as she took a seat next to Lucas.

"Haley!" Brooke perked up. "I see you and Lucas are managing the front very well.. and by the way, I totally love the dress, it really goes great with your complexion."

Haley blushed a little bit. "Umm.. thanks.."

"Brooke there you are!!" Damien came flying in and Brooke tried her best to hide her disgust.

"Damien?" Haley looked up at him curiously.

"Why Miss Haley James.. pleasure to see you as always… you look gorgeous as always." Damien smirked and leaning over the table and giving Haley's hand a quick kiss. She pulled it back quickly and the blush across Haley's face didn't go unnoticed, especially to a dark haired blue eyed boy who just walked in.

Brooke saw the other angry other Scott walk in and quickly grabbed Damien's arm.

"Come on Damien, let's go find our table." Brooke dragged Damien off inside the ballroom as he protested.

"What's he doing here?" Haley asked herself.

"Ask your _best friend_ here."

Haley looked up to see Nathan glaring at her. A lump immediately formed in her throat. Nathan had always been handsome whether it was wearing jeans or baggy sweat pants but to see him here now, complete in a tuxedo was a whole new level. Haley started to feel hot but it cooled down with the icy glare Nathan was giving her. Of course he had to see her talking with Damien. Nathan turned his head, giving his brother the same cold look before dropping his ticket on the table and walking inside.

A good minute had passed and Haley still looked out into the ballroom doors where Nathan walked through.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked nervously.

"What the hell is Damien doing here and Nathan too.. this can't be good." Haley shook her head.

"Don't get mad but I sort of suggested to Brooke to take Damien.."

"You what?!?!" Haley couldn't believe what she was hearing. Haley got up and talked to one of the other volunteers nearby to take over the door and then went back to Lucas and grabbed his arm. She led them off to an empty a hallway where they could have some privacy.

"You have 30 seconds to explain to me what the hell is going on before I rip that fake bow tie of yours off your shirt!" Haley glared at Lucas.

"Because I'm sorry about everything and I wanted to make it up to you."

"How is this making up to me?"

"Do you want Damien here or would you rather have Nathan?"

"What does that have anything to do with it?"

"I saw the way you just blushed in front of Damien, you like him."

"So?? I don't find him as annoying as I used to.. big deal.. now he's here and I can just imagine Nathan going all cave man on him.. Lucas what the hell were you thinking?"

"So you're worried about Nathan?"

"I'm worried that Nathan will start a fight and get suspended from the team."

"Well that wouldn't be so bad, though we might not make it through the first round of play offs."

"Lucas Scott! Is this what's this all about, you wanting to get Nathan fired up so he'd do stupid."

"No, I want him to get fired up so he can get up his butt and do something .. same goes for you."

"What're you talking about?"

"You've been avoiding him and he's walking around the halls _fake bumping _into you, there's obviously still something between the two of you..."

"So what, now you want us together?" Haley asked confused.

"If that's what you truly want then yes."

Haley was speechless and gave Lucas a curious look.

"I.. I don't understand.." Haley muttered out.

"Look, I told you what I told Nathan.. I want you to be happy and if Damien makes you happy then okay .. if Nathan makes you happy then I'm ok with it too .. just please don't close your heart out, it isn't you." Lucas lifted her chin to look at him. "Listen to it.." Lucas said softly before turning around to leave.

Haley stood there for a moment, completely stunned. _Lucas talked to Nathan?_

. . . . . . .

"What're you doing sulking over here?" Lucas glared at Nathan as he took a cup to fill it with some punch.

"I'm not sulking." Nathan protested.

"You're sulking.. and you've been stalking Haley all night.. go ahead and talk to her already."

"Look, who's stalking who?" Nathan huffed as he took another sip of his punch. "And besides, she looks _busy._" Nathan rolled his eyes as he saw Haley laughing and talking to Damien West.

"He even had the nerve to talk shit to me about our upcoming game with Culver City." Nathan gritted through his teeth.

"Don't they suck?"

"Damien scored 38 points against them this season, a record high.. I'm going to wipe that record and his smug smirk off his face." Nathan said bitterly.

Lucas shook his head and put the ladle down and took a sip. "Oh God.. what the hell is this?"

"Punch." Nathan said off handily. "Well mostly punch." He smirked.

"More like Vodka."

"Greygoose to be exact." Nathan rolled his eyes again as he saw Haley laugh again. "I need some air." Nathan muttered as he put his drink down and walked.

. . . .

"And so after waiting on hand and foot for him for like 30 minutes, he decides he doesn't want it anymore and walks away."

"Oh what a jerk." Haley said, completely sharing in Damien's pain of rude customers. So far Haley was trying her best to enjoy the evening. It didn't take long for Damien to come sit next to her and the two started talking and sharing horror stories over their jobs.

"But the best part was that he left his wallet." Damien smiled.

"Oh no.. you didn't?"

"Oh I did .. and I went shopping after my shift..." Damien started to laugh.

Haley started laughing. "You're so bad." Haley took another sip of her glass of water. Tonight wasn't so bad, although she knew Nathan was here somewhere. It was then that she noticed Nathan staring at her with Lucas right next to him and more importantly, they weren't ripping each other's heads apart. It was a weird sight to say the least. From the corner of her eye, she watched them. At the same time, she tried her best to keep up with Damien and laughing at yet another comment Damien made. She tried to listen to Damien but her attention focused more and more on the Scott brothers. She noticed Nathan putting his drink down and walking away.

"Hello earth to Haley!" Damien waved his hand in front of her.

"Oh.. I'm sorry.. what were you saying?"

"Are you zoning out on Scott again?"

"What.. no.."

Damien looked back and saw Lucas. "Or should I say, which Scott… so you and Lucas seem to be friends again.."

"Umm.. yeah.. we talked .. we both made mistakes and apologized .. we weren't how we were before.. but we're going to get there.. I know it."

"And Nathan?"

"What about him?"

"Don't try to fool me with this whole I'm over him.. I don't love him crap.."

"I never said I didn't love him."

"Then why are you wasting your time with me."

"And all this time, I thought you liked me."

"Oh I do.. believe me." Damien wiggled his eyebrows. "But I've been second place next to Nathan growing up .. I don't want his left overs.. no offense."

"Umm.. okay?" Haley looked at him curiously.

"Look Hales, you're a great girl.. a really great girl.. any guy including myself would be lucky to have you but it's clear to even a blind man that you still have feelings for Nathan .. so why don't you go ahead and finally talk to him .." Damien leaned back. "and then let his ass down gently and then maybe we can do dinner or something next week."

Haley couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks Damien for listening .. you're not as big of an ass as people make you out to be."

"Gee thanks." Damien deadpanned.

"Don't worry.. I'm sure you'll find the right girl.." Haley said as she was about to get up.

"But what if I already found her." Damien took her hand.

"Then I say, keep looking." She took her hand back and offered an apologetic smile.

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Damien smiled.

"No.. I can't.. I'll be seeing you.." Haley said getting up and walking towards the last place she saw Nathan.

She found him a minute later, outside on the deck over looking the water. The prom was held at the local country club which over looked a lake that people went fishing in. He was leaning over the railing, obviously in deep thought.

Nathan heard footsteps approaching and his heart dropped at the sight. Haley was absolutely breathtaking. She wore a beige strapless dress that went down to just her knees. Her hair was pulled back and she had a touch of make-up except for the bright red lipstick she wore which only made her lips that much more mesmerizing. All thoughts of wanting to talk to her flew out of his mind, all he wanted to do was hold her and kiss her until they both ran out of air.

She saw him studying her, his gaze deep and heavy. It nearly took her breath away. "Nathan.." It came out just above a whisper.

In a second, he pulled her into him, crushing his lips against hers. She was loosing herself under his spell and it took all her strength to tear her lips from his. "We should talk.." She said.

"I don't want to talk." He said leaving hot kisses along the side of her neck. "I miss you.. I need you.." He captured her lips once more.

"Nathan..please.." She begged and the tone of her voice stopped him dead in his tracks. She took a step and he wiped her lipstick from his lips.

Before any of them can speak, they were interrupted once more.

"Nathan!! There you are!" Brooke came flying in and grabbing Nathan and pulling him back inside.

"Brooke, what the hell?!"

"Come on Principal Tuner already announced your name."

"What? I was with Haley, so would you let me go?"

"No trust me.." She led him off and as soon as they re-entered the ball room, Nathan was greeted by throngs of applauses and cheers.

"There he is folks… this year's Prom King!!" Principal Turner announced.

Great, Nathan told himself. Nathan smiled nervously as he made his way onto the stage, trying his best to keep his composure. He got up, where a sash was placed over him and a crown over his head. He really didn't want to be up here but with the whole school looking at him and the Principal next to him, he didn't have much of a choice.

"And now, this year's prom queen… Brooke Davis!" Principal Turner announced. Brooke happily walked up to the stage, where another student was waiting to give her a crown but Brooke held her hands up and took the microphone from Turner.

"Thank you so much Principal Turner.. it's with great honor that I ... your student council president for next year announce this year's Prom Queen."

Turner cleared his throat and tapped Brooke on the shoulder. "What's going on?" He whispered. "Aren't you prom queen?"

"No.. I'm just announcing it." She whispered back and quickly went back to the crowd.

"Oh?" Turner gave her a confused look.

"So without further ado.. this year's Prom Queen…. Haley James!!!" Brooke winked over to Nathan and Nathan smirked back.

. . . . .

Haley walked back inside with the spotlight on her. One minute she was outside kissing Nathan, the next she's being dragged on stage being crowned Prom Queen. She couldn't believe it, she didn't believe it. She smiled nervously as people took pictures and of course Nathan was enjoying the whole thing.

"And now our Prom King and Queen will take their first dance." Principal Turner said as the lights dimmed and soft music started to play.

Haley looked nervously at Nathan.

"Come on Hales.. it's just a dance." He reached out his hand and she took it.

They made their way on the dance floor and started to slowly sway to the music. "We still need to talk." She said softly.

"I know.. but for the next few minutes.. can .. can we just dance?" He pleaded.

She gave him a small smile and leaned against his chest. For the next three minutes and 28 seconds, Nathan felt truly at peace, both of them pretending as if there was nothing wrong between the two of them. The peace didn't last long as the music stopped and everyone applauded once more.

. . . .

After taking some more pictures. They finally managed to sneak back outside to the deck. They stood there a moment, not quite sure what to say at first.

"I'm sorry about earlier.. I didn't mean to just kiss you like that but .. you .. wow.. Hales.. you look so beautiful." Nathan said as he took a good look of her, tiara and all.

Haley blushed and removed her tiara and placed it in her hands.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She smiled and Nathan followed suit, taking off his own crown.

"Look Nathan.. I want to tell you that I'm not mad at you anymore.. I mean yes a part of me will always be mad at you but I forgive you … I guess that's what I'm trying to say."

"That's.. that's a good thing right?"

"Yes.. yes it is." Haley nodded. "I know you must feel guilty about what happened but I want you to forgive yourself as well... I spoke to Taylor.. she was going to go through the abortion with or without your help."

"Still.. I'm sorry for what I did and said to her.. I should've encouraged her or something instead of calling her out like I did."

"You were younger then.. immature.."

"And now?"

"Now .. I'm scared.. I'm scared to let you back in and be hurt again.."

"Haley..."

"Please.." Haley held her hand up. "I took a test.. a pregnancy test." She blurted out. If she didn't get this out, she didn't know when she would.

Nathan's eyes went wide open. "Are.. are you…" His voice shaky.

"No.." Haley shook her head. "I'm not.. I'm sure of it."

Nathan took a deep breath, relief evident across his face.

"The whole thing freaked me out .. as you can imagine.. and I thought that you'd.."

"That I'd what?" Nathan asked.

"That if I were pregnant then you would leave me .. or worst.."

"Worst?"

"That you would ask me to get rid of it.. like you did with Taylor"

"Haley.. I would never.."

"You're probably right but what if I did get pregnant then what .. we were moving way too fast and then everything with Lucas.. I'm scared Nathan.." A tear rolling down her face. "There's this whole side to you that I don't know.. the one that would throw his brother in a ditch or tell my sister to get an abortion .. and I'm just scared that if something were to happen to me .. that.."

"That what?!" Nathan raised his voice. He looked at her for a moment but the guilt ridden look on her face told him everything he needed to know.

"Haley, what? That I'd be what.. that I'd be like Dan!?"

"…."

Her silence was deafening and it felt like someone punched him in the gut. She saw the hurt look on his face and wished she could take the pain away.

"Nathan, I do love you.. I never stopped.. I just need time.." She said quickly.

Nathan stepped up to her, his eyes glossy. "I love you Hales.. more than you know and if you want time .. then okay.." His voice filled with sadness.

"Nathan.."

"You can have all the time and space you need.. just .. don't.. don't expect me to be around when it happens." He said somberly.

"Nathan.."

"No!" He said more forcefully. "You said I'm like Dan but I want you to know that you're wrong! I thought you were the only person in this world that got me.. but maybe I was wrong too.. you see… my dad could never get over his past and his mistakes and for that.. me.. Lucas we all suffered.. but I'm going to do what my Dad could never do.."

"Which is.." Haley voice said softly.

He tucked a stray hair behind Haley's ear. "Let go." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I do love you Hales.. but now I know that I could never make you happy, at least not in the way you deserve. Find happiness Haley, even if it's not with me."

And with that he walked away, away from her dropping his crown along the way.

To Be Continued . . . .

Next chapter is huge.. please review!!!


	33. Chapter 33

Winners and Losers

Chapter 33

Thank you so much for the reviews. It really got me pumped out to get this next chapter out right away. Last chapter was a major turning point which is why it took me so long to get it out. This chapter is even bigger, everything had been leading to here and next chapter, it's going to be a little crazy. Thank you all for your support, please also check out my other stories, The Mourning After and Behind the Scenes which I'll be updating more after this story is finished. Enjoy and please review!!

. . . . .

_He didn't want to walk away, didn't want to let her go but she left him no choice. He could still hear the sound of his crown hitting the ground but still he walked. He was hoping that she would run after him, chase him down and kiss him silly. But she never came and Nathan Scott continued to walk._

_Lucas' words kept replaying over and over in his mind. Damn him, he backed him into a corner in which he couldn't get out of. _

"If she doesn't.." Lucas spoke up. "and if you really do truly care for her and love her.. you should do the best thing for her."

"Which is what?"

"Let her go."

_Those words haunted him ever since Lucas told him and he prayed to God he didn't have to follow them through. But she made her choice. He didn't want to let her go, how could he? He tried it before and it made him miserable, but if she didn't feel the same way back what could he do. He tried everything he could. At least he can say he went down in fighting and took the high road. _Damn Lucas!_ If he did continue to go after her then that would prove Lucas' initial suspicions after all, that Nathan didn't really love Haley. That Nathan Scott was the still selfish bastard who only cares about what Nathan wants. Now, he was letting her go, but it didn't matter, he still didn't have her._

_Nathan continued to walk, completely forgetting that he left his car at the parking lot. He turned around to head straight there, not back at the party where Haley was. Haley, dammit, he cursed to himself, why must everything be so hard. Forget what Lucas said, it's not like Lucas thought highly of him anyway. At least if he still went after her then there was still a slim chance that she would end up with him. Picking up speed and feeling satisfied with his decision, he walked even faster. As he approached the entrance, his heart dropped and he stopped dead in his tracks. _

_Haley came waltzing out with none other than Damien West. He nearly forgot that that bastard was here. Nathan watched in horror as they walked over to Damien's car and the two got in. Not wasting a single second, Nathan ran over to his car and quickly followed him. He watched enough television to know not to be too obvious. He kept his distance, the last thing he needed was for Haley to think he was a stalker, which he technically was at this point. _

_He turned off his lights and parked a few houses down from Haley's, far enough not to be seen by them but close enough to see what was going on. He watched as the two got out of the car and walked up Haley's step. _Get in, get in!_ He told himself. He sighed in relief as Haley opened her door and stepped inside but nearly shitted in his pants when Damien walked right in after her. _

_Nathan got out of his car and carefully made his way to her house, peeking through the first floor windows to see what was going on but he saw nothing. Then he caught a glimpse of the stairs and saw four legs walking up it. _No, no, no!!_ Nathan's mind started to race. He made his way to the solid oak tree that was perched by Haley's window and started to climb. _

_When he got to the top, it took him a second to adjust to the light. But then Haley's door opened, the light from the hallway pouring in and Damien's hands and mouth were all over Haley. Nathan couldn't believe it, he was about to throw up but his anger and jealousy at the moment was overpowering. There were all over each other and when Damien guided her to her bed, that's when he lost it. Quickly stepping onto the branch, he had every intent of busting through her window and beating the crap out of Damien. Unfortunately, his black leather shoes proved to slippery for the branch and he lost his balance, sending him hurtling towards the ground below. _

Nathan shot up from bed, his heart racing and covered in sweat. He rubbed his forehead and fell back against his bed. That was the same nightmare he'd been having ever since prom a few days ago. After he left Haley at prom, he did go back to get his car but found her leaving the party with Damien. Like his nightmare, he followed them back to her house but he only walked her to the door. The sight of another guy taking his girl home, well former girl, home was unnerving. It would only be a matter of time before someone realizes what a wonderful girl Haley was and sweep her off her feet and she would no longer had to deal with the drama that came with him. It was clear to him that he did what was best for not only her but him. He wanted her happy, unfortunately he couldn't do that anymore.

He had successfully managed to avoid seeing Haley all week and sent Lucas death glares if he dared asked him about Haley. He was doing what he set out to do, letting her go, giving her all the fucking time she wanted. Still, the nightmares left him visibly shaken. Why couldn't it be the nice dreams where it was him taking her home from prom, kissing her, touching her, making sweet love in her room all night long until Haley lost her voice, she'd been screaming his name so much.

Nathan smirked at the thought and a certain part of his anatomy had also woken up. He really needed to get laid, but unfortunately Haley screwed him up so bad that the thought of touching another person made him sick. So instead, he opted for the best option at the moment, one of his _special showers_ he did each morning. He glanced at the clock and saw he had plenty of time for two.

. . . .

"He's still avoiding you?" Lucas asked.

"Like the plague."

"Well you said you wanted time." Lucas said carefully.

"Time, not space." Haley groaned out in frustration. Ever since the night of the prom, she had been regretting her last words to Nathan. Yes, she still needed sometime but the hurt look across his face shook her to the core.

"Hales.." Lucas tried to plead with her.

"Lucas I know I know.. this is my fault .. I need to fix it."

"So does that mean, you're ready to take him back?"

She avoided the question mainly because a more important one was pressing, if he wanted to take her back. She told Lucas what happened, not all the gory details but enough to satisfy his curiosity. The silver lining in all this was that her and Lucas seem to be getting back on track. He had been really supportive lately and she no longer felt guilty when mentioning Nathan's name around him.

"There he is!" Haley got up from table. She saw Nathan enter the school and this time, hoped to catch him.

"Good luck." Lucas muttered as Haley quickly grabbed her things and ran into the school.

. . . .

Nathan saw her coming, but unfortunately he had no where to run. He glanced at her for a second and then continued to pack his books for the morning.

"Hey.." She said softly as she approached her.

"Hey." He replied back, simple, monotone, cold. Haley hated this.

"Can we talk?" She said nervously and Nathan replied with a curt. "No."

He closed his locker and started to walk to homeroom. Not wanting to give up so easily, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into an empty classroom.

"What?" He crossed his arm.

"Umm.. how are you?"

"Is this why you dragged me in here? I have to get to class."

"Nathan, wait."

"What Haley?! All I've been doing is waiting and you know what I'm tired of it."

"God Nathan!" Haley exclaimed. "What do you want from me?"

"Want from you?" Nathan's voice softened. "I want you to finally figure out what you want.. what do you want Haley?"

"I.. I don't know.. all I know is that I don't like this."

"Yeah, I thought so .. look Hales.. I don't like this either but it is what it is." Nathan shook his head. "Do what makes you happy.. I'm trying to do the same and right now that's basketball .. I've been sloppy lately and the last thing I need is for Damien West or my dad or some other punk to call me out that I didn't perform against freaking Culver City."

"Nathan.."

"Haley! I'm serious.. go do whatever it is you do.. tutor.. the café.. Lucas.. you needed time.. there you have it.. let me have mine." And with that he stormed off.

Nathan took off in the hallways, trying his best to cool down. He wanted nothing more than to take Haley in his arms but he couldn't.

"Yo Nate!" Tim called out.

"Hey Tim.." Nathan said in a low voice.

"You ready for our game?"

Nathan stopped walking and turned to his friend. "Actually.. does your brother still deal?"

. . . .

The next day, Nathan was in the locker room, getting himself ready for the game. Lucas approached him cautiously.

"Hey." Lucas greeted.

Nathan glanced at him. "What do you want?" He said bluntly.

"Look, I know your mad.. I talked to Haley."

"Don't mention her!" Nathan bit back. "She wanted time, there she can have it .. you told me to let her go.. I did, so just back off!" Nathan didn't know why everyone was on his case, he was merely doing what was asked of him.

"Nathan.."

"Look, tip off is in 10 minutes so either you're here to play Dr. Phil or play some ball .. maybe if you get your head into the game, I wouldn't have to carry the team so much!" Nathan slammed his locker and started to put the lock on.

"Nathan.. you're .. you're shaking." Lucas glanced down to see Nathan's unsteady hands.

Nathan locked is locker and started to walk away. "I'm fine."

Lucas knew better than to press him about Haley. All Nathan wanted to hear from Lucas' mouth the past week was about basketball and nothing else. He actually felt sorry for Nathan. He knew how passionately he loved Haley and to not be with her, well he could only imagine that type of torture.

"I got the results!" Lucas called out. Nathan stopped to look at him.

"I, umm, haven't opened it. I don't want to." Lucas admitted. He had received a letter from the clinic yesterday and didn't have it in him to open it.

"Okay." Nathan simply muttered. He wasn't Lucas' keeper. He did his job by telling Lucas about the HCM. It was Lucas' choice what to do with it.

"Have you .."

"No.. I haven't." Nathan cut him off. "And I'm not going to."

"Nathan that's stupid, you can die!"

"Well it's a good thing I already feel dead." Nathan shook his head. "Basketball is all I got now, without it I might as well be." And with that he took off.

. . . . .

Haley arrived at the gym late. The café was busier than usual tonight and Haley stayed longer to make up for lost hours. She found a seat next to Mouth and glanced up on the scoreboard. The Ravens had a dominating 25 point lead with 4 minutes left of play in the 4th quarter. The gym was packed and everyone was going wild, especially because of the Raven's star player.

"Hales, you made it."

"Yeah, I got stuck at the café.. I see we're up."

"Oh man, we're killing them.. Nathan's having the game of his life."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he already scored 40 points, 9 more and he'll tie his dad for most points scored in a game, 10 he beats it."

"Wow.. that's .. that's great." Haley looked onto the court and saw Nathan focused on the game. She was happy for him but all she felt was sadness, knowing that she couldn't be there for him the way he wanted. Haley shook her head, things had gone far enough. With each passing day, she became more and more miserable. She decided then that after the game, she would talk to Nathan or at least force him to listen. She wanted to make things right, no matter how ugly it got.

. . . . .

"Offensive foul!!" The ref called out.

"What you talking about? He pushed me!" Nathan argued.

"Sorry son, you pushed him."

"That's crap and you know it!" Nathan stepped up in his face. Lucas and some of the other guys held Nathan back.

"Watch your boy coach!" The ref warned Whitey.

"Time!!" Whitey called out and turned to Nathan. "Cool your ass off! I don't care how many points you score tonight!"

Whitey shook his head and gathered the team around him. "Look, we have under a minute left, there's no way they can catch up to us so play clean, no fouls! Ravens on three!"

"1 .. 2 … 3 .. RAVENS!!"

Nathan looked over his shoulder and for the first time that night, he realized Haley was there. They locked eyes for a second before shaking his head and walking back to the court. He only needed one more basket and that's it. He didn't need Haley to distract him again.

"You okay?" Lucas asked as he noticed Nathan's hands shaking again.

"Just pass me the ball."

Moments later, they were back on the court. Lucas managed to steal the ball and pass it down low to Nathan who was wide open. Nathan grabbed the ball, this was it. This was his chance. But as soon as he started to make a move, his legs felt wobbly and everything to spin. The noise of the crowd started to fade as he focused in on Haley's worried face, the last thing he saw before everything went black.

. . . . . .

The paramedics rushed towards the school and placed Nathan on a stretcher with Whitey, Lucas, Haley, one of the refs and some other people behind them.

"What happened?" The paramedic asked.

"He was fine and all of a sudden he collapsed." Whitey shook his head.

"He's dehydrated and his heart is racing." The other paramedic stated.

Lucas swallowed a lump in his throat.

"He's under my watch while his parents are gone.. I'll go with him." Whitey said as he was about to get on the ambulance.

"If you leave, you guys forfeit the game." The ref called out.

"Coach, it's fine.. I'll stay with him." Haley spoke up.

"Sorry.. only the coach or immediate family can get on." The paramedic replied.

Lucas saw the disappointed and worried look on Haley's face. "I'll go!" Lucas spoke up next.

"And you are?" The paramedic asked.

"I'm.. I'm his brother." Lucas admitted.

"Okay, get in!"

Whitey gave Lucas a pad on the back and a reassuring look. "We'll wrap up the game and meet you at the hospital." Whitey and the ref went back inside.

"Are there any medical issues we should know about? Allergies, diseases that run in the family?" The paramedic asked.

Lucas saw that Haley was still there, clutching onto Nathan's hand until they led him inside and she reluctantly let go.

"His dad.. umm.. our dad.." Lucas muttered out, knowing his next few words would break Haley's heart. ".. had a heart attack recently.. he has hypertophic cardiomyopathy.. HCM…Nathan might have it too." Lucas looked down, not bearing to look at Haley's grief stricken face.

The paramedics closed the door and started the sirens and drove off.

Haley stood there, completely bewildered, scared, and feeling utterly alone. She collapsed onto her knees, the tears freely flowing now, praying to God that Nathan would be okay.

. . . . .

To Be Continued . . .

Feedback appreciated!!!


	34. Chapter 34

Winners and Losers

Chapter 34

Thank you all for the reviews. The last few chapters were pivotal in that Lucas was finally accepting of Nathan and Haley's relationship, in fact encouraging it sometimes. I also thought it would be fitting to tie in the drug storyline from the show to bring heighten the Naley aspect of the story but to also bring the brothers closer, with Lucas stating that "I'm his brother" was probably the first time he ever admitted to it out loud (sort of reminiscent to Dan in season 1 when Lucas got in the car accident) and then of course the drama with the HCM. It's funny reading all the Haley bashing and I have to admit, in some of the stories I read, I also get very frustrated with Haley. But keep in mind that Haley was burned badly by Nathan before and this whole time, she thought it was her fault because she was too scared to tell Lucas, so when she found out that it wasn't her fault that it was really Nathan, well yeah, you saw what happened. Anyways, you'll see all three characters come at a turning point in this chapter.

On a side note, I've been keeping tabs on Mark and James' trip to Paris to promote season 5 there. First of all, I'm jealous because I studied in France twice and absolutely loved it there and looking at all the footage made me a little nostalgic. It wasn't easy going to France without knowing a lick of French, but I picked up what I can and definitely had a blast. Anyways, what's interesting is that OTH is called Les Freres Scott or The Scott Brothers in English which is interesting considering the real possible departure of not only Hilarie but Chad as well. Mark confirmed during an interview that they are still in negotiations and that he hopes everyone comes back. If they don't come back, I'll be very worried but I hope they'll do okay, I mean we still have Naley so that to me is completely fine. Have James or Joy leave, then I'd rather not watch. With Chad and Hilarie gone, I did hear that Austin (Julian) is signed on so having him there with Brooke can help keep things interesting, also keeping Victoria around will also good because it can show Brooke with her relationship with not only Julian but connecting with her mom. At the same time, I don't want it to be the Brooke show either. They need to give Nathan more than just basketball. I'm not quite sure what they should do with him but if Dan is still around, which I hope, then he can also try to rebuild his relationship with him. Likewise, if Hilarie leaves, Haley should take up the studio and record herself. For naley, I really want to show them as a young couple, we know they married young and have a son but these are two beautiful attractive people, they should be sneaking off half the time to get it on. Anyways, that's enough on my rant about OTH.

This is another big chapter so without further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy and please review !!!

. . . . .

"Lucas!!" A tear stricken Haley came flying through the waiting room doors of the Emergency Room.

"Hales.." Lucas turned around to face her.

"How is he?" Her voice trembling.

"I don't know.. he's with the doctors right now, his body temperature spiked so they put him on icepacks.. they're running tests right now."

Haley wiped her eyes and took a nearby seat. "He has to be okay Luke.. he has to be."

"He will.." Lucas put his arm around her and brought her close to him. Kissing the top of he head, he soothingly rubbed his hand behind her back in an attempt to calm her crying. Seeing his best friend so broken was eating him up as well.

"Luke, what did you mean earlier with Nathan's heart.." Haley asked softly, but was interrupted.

"Lucas Scott!" A doctor came out.

"Yes.. that's me." Lucas said standing up, with Haley right behind him.

"I'm Dr. Richards.." He extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"By all accounts, your brother will be okay."

Haley sighed in relief.

"What happened to him? Is it his heart?"

Haley's raised her eyebrow.

"His heart rate was high, whether or not HCM had a factor in it, we won't know until the tests come back. His initial blood work came back and we found traces of stimulants .. which could explain his symptoms."

"But he's going to be okay?" Haley asked.

"Yes, with some rest and plenty of fluids to flush out the stimulants, he should be okay, unless..."

"Unless what?" Haley asked tearfully.

"Unless it is HCM." The doctor paused seeing the distraught look on the young woman, no doubt she was very close to Nathan. Clearing his throat, he looked back to Lucas.

"Have you spoken to your parents?"

"Nathan and I .. we're half brothers. . same father but we umm.. we don't live together.. our coach is contacting him mom right now."

Dr. Richards nodded. "Now, I want to make sure you're okay too.. in case that it really was HCM.."

"I umm.. I got tested already."

"Okay, that's good to know. I'm sure you've been made all aware of the factors and risks with HCM?"

Lucas nodded.

"That's good.. I'll be back to give you an update as soon as I know anything."

"Thank you Doctor." Lucas shook his hand and turned back around to find a very angry and pissed off looking Haley.

"Lucas Eugene Scott, you better explain yourself and this whole HCM thing!" When Haley heard Lucas say it on the ambulance, she was shocked but was in denial that she really heard it. From the moment she left the school to when she got to the hospital, her only thoughts were making sure that Nathan was okay. But now to hear Lucas talk about the HCM and how he had been tested already, well it was making her blood boil. How could Lucas keep this from her, how can Nathan!?

"Okay.. come on.. not here." Lucas looked around to the scores of people around him. He led her outside just passed the entrance to get more privacy. He sat down on a nearby bench and Haley followed suit.

"A few weeks ago, Dan was on a business trip and he suffered a heart attack .. that's why he hasn't been back to Tree Hill." Haley nodded taking in the information, she knew Nathan's mother traveled a lot so it was nothing new but it would explain why she had never seen Dan around lately. "That's when the doctor's found out he had HCM and that it's genetic." Lucas sighed. ".. meaning that Nathan and I have a 50 percent chance of having it as well."

Haley's stomach dropped and she felt the tears stinging her eyes. This has got to be a cruel joke, the two men she loved the most, her best friend and her soul mate might have a genetic heart disorder.

"What's.. what's HCM?"

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.. it causes the heart muscles to increase in size and thicken and can lead to cardiac arrests.. especially in athletes."

"Oh my God.." Haley's cried out.

"Look, it's okay.. lots of people have HCM and live full lives .. there's treatment and medicine.."

"That's.. that's a good thing right?" Haley asked.

"Yes.. but that means no more basketball." Lucas looked down.

"Lucas.. I'm so sorry." Haley said as she wrapped her arms around him. "But you said you got the results back? You're okay right?" Haley asked hopefully.

"I.. I haven't opened it yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to.." He looked away. "Because I'm scared."

She grabbed his hand, squeezing it to let him know that she understood. "You do know that you have to find out."

"Yeah.. I know.. well especially since Whitey knows, I can't hold it off much longer." Lucas sighed.

"Oh my God Lucas, this is all my fault."

"How is any of this your fault?" Lucas asked. "That's nonsense."

"I knew Nathan was always under pressure from basketball and his dad too and now dealing with his heart.. and here I was this whole time being stubborn and childish when I couldn't be there for him when he needed me.. God Luke." She wiped her eyes. "He has to know that I'm here for him.. that I need him." She put her hands to her face, a poor attempt to mask her tears.

Lucas pulled her back to him. "It's going to be okay, Hales.. it's going to be okay." He repeated his words, hoping that he would be right.

. . . . .

"You two look like crap."

Lucas and Haley looked up from their seats.

"Gee.. thanks Coach." Lucas deadpanned.

"Why don't you kids go home and get some rest, I'll stay here until Nathan's mom arrives in the morning." Whitey offered.

"Yeah.. that sounds like a good idea." Lucas said, getting up and stretching.

"You go, I'll stay here." Haley said.

"Haley!" Both Whitey and Lucas complained.

"No, I'm not leaving here until I know he's okay." Haley said defiantly.

"Haley, the doctor says he's going to be fine.. you can go visit him yourself." Whitey said. He gave both of them a pointed look, "I already have one kid in the hospital, I don't need two more for exhaustion." Whitey said before walking away.

"Yeah, Hales.. he's right, we should get some rest, at least shower and get some food."

"No, I'm not leaving."

"Hales.. we've been here for hours.. why don't you visit him, you can see that he's fine and then you can go home and change and then come straight back here, how does that sound?"

Haley nodded, knowing that she didn't have the strength to fight him at the moment.

They walked down the long hallway, walking towards room 2233. Lucas stopped right before they reached the door, knowing that Haley would probably like to do this in private.

"You go on ahead, I'll be right here." Lucas said.

Haley gave him a small smile and continued walking. She stopped by the door and peered through the glass window on the door. She saw Nathan there lying unconscious with various cables and tubes attached to him. The sight broke her heart and her stomach in knots. She felt sick and wanted to throw up. She wanted to go in, wanted to let him know that she was there but she couldn't. She took a step back.

"Is everything okay?"

Haley shook her head.

"I can't go in there." She said softly.

"Yes, you can."

"No.. not after what I've done to him.. you should've seen the last time I saw him.. he was so mad at me.. so hurt." Her voice cracked. She straightened herself back up. "Look, you're right … I should go home and change.. I'll.. I'll be back." She said quickly and turned around left.

Lucas stood there for a moment, his back against the wall, wondering how the hell everything got so screwed. His heart went out to Haley and surprisingly Nathan. He started to feel bad, guilty for what he did. They loved each other, he shouldn't have gotten in the way, he knew that now and now he was going to fix it.

He opened the door and slowly walked inside and took a seat next to Nathan. He saw Nathan with all these gizmos on him and it didn't sit well with him, especially since he always saw Nathan as this strong confident guy where nothing could touch him, even him.

"You know you got to wake up .. it's just like you so hog everyone's attention." Lucas tried to joke. "Look man,.. Haley's tearing herself up over this.. I need you to tell her it's going to be okay.. look she loves you and how many times did you profess your love for her to me.. so if you love her.. dude please.. just wake your ass up so you can tell her that."

Lucas sighed as he sat back down against the chair, nothing but silence and the beeping of Nathan's EKG machine. He sat there for a moment, closing his eyes. He really was tired.

"Haley." He heard someone say and for a second Lucas thought he might've imagined it, but he heard it again.

"Nathan.. Nathan.." Lucas looked over at Nathan, his eyes fluttering.

Nathan's big blue eyes opened up and the two brothers stared at each other for a moment.

"Hey.. welcome back." Lucas said softly.

"Wat.. water." Nathan muttered out. Lucas quickly got up and went to the back of the room and grabbed a glass of water for Nathan. He went back to Nathan and held the cup for him while he sipped.

"See.. I knew you'd be better as the water boy instead of small forward." Nathan muttered out.

Lucas couldn't help but smile, Nathan insulting him felt as if the world had somehow returned back to normal.

"Ass!" Lucas couldn't help but smile as he put the cup against Nathan's lips. "I hope you know I spitted in that."

Nathan nearly choked and Lucas chuckled. The light heartedness of the moment, helping to ease the tension both brothers felt.

"What happened?" Nathan put his head back against the pillow.

"You collapsed Nate." Lucas said softly and by the look on Nathan's face, he assumed that everything started to come back to him. Nathan thought back to the game and the last image he saw before passing out.

"Haley.. I saw her before I passed out"

"Yeah, she was here.. she just went back home to change."

"I need to see her." Nathan tried to get up but the blood rushed out from his head and he felt a little dizzy and disoriented.

"Look let me get a nurse or doctor.. just lie back down and relax."

Nathan nodded and watched as Lucas left the room. _She was here__. _Nathan thought to himself, no longer caring about himself. He needed to see her.

. . . .

Haley finished drying her hair and put the towel down and reached for her ringing phone.

"Hey Luke.. I just finished changing, I'm heading back now…. wait what? He left .. how the hell did that happen?!"

"He woke up after you left.. I went to go find and a doctor.. it took forever to find someone but when I got back, he was gone."

"Oh my God.. look, I'll try to find him.. I'll call you if I find anything." Haley quickly hung up and pulled up Nathan's number. The phone rang but it went straight to voicemail.

"Hey it's me.. I'm worried about you.. there's so many things I want to say.. I really hate the way things ended.."

"So do I."

Haley whipped her head around and found Nathan in his Tree Hill uniform standing by her bedroom door.

"No body answered the door." Nathan added.

"They're gone for the weekend." Haley put her phone down.

"How are you?" Haley asked hesitantly.

"Not so good." Nathan said softly. "How are you?"

"Not so good." Haley repeated his words and reached out to him. Nathan opened his arms they both wrapped their arms around each other. Nathan kissed the top of her hand and Haley wrapped her hand around his and led him to the foot of her bed where they both sat down.

"I made a lot of mistakes, Haley.. sometimes because of my dad.. sometimes by choice."

"What happened tonight?" Haley asked curiously.

"I took some pills.. I took too much, I thought they'd help out my game.. it was stupid I know."

"Nathan, I'm so sorry." Haley rubbed his cheek.

"You have nothing to be sorry about.. I'm the one who's sorry."

"No, Nathan.." Haley shook her head. She had to get this out. "When I was saw you collapse .. I was so scared.. I thought for a second that maybe you won't wake up and then I wouldn't get a chance to tell you how much I love you." Haley choked out her words as a few tears slid down her face. Nathan brushed his thumb across her cheeks to wipe her tears. "I'm so sorry for everything, I shouldn't have pushed you away.. I know you're nothing your dad .. you're so much better than he is .. I was being stubborn and I know I told you I needed time but all I really need is you.. I know that now." Haley looked at him.

"Hey.. it's okay." He said softly. "You had every right.."

"No I should've never said those things.. if something were to happen to me.. I knew you'd be there .. I'm sorry for ever doubting you."

"I'm sorry for ever giving you a reason to." He answered back and then he squeezed her hand. He really had no idea what he did to her. She loved him even more with each passing second, she felt so stupid for ever doubting what her heart had been telling her this whole time. She wouldn't dwell on that, no anymore. They were together now and nothing would keep them apart again.

"God Haley.. I was so scared.. and looking out in the stands, I saw you.. and I promised myself that if I could just get up, and walk over to you, and tell you how much I need you.. how much I want you.. that nothing else matters."

Haley's heart swelled with love and she reached out and the two shared a tender kiss. Pulling away, she rested her forehead against his.

"Can.. can I stay here tonight?" He asked. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

She got up and walked over to her door and closed it. Nathan stood up and kicked off his shoes, he took off his warm up shirt and then pants. Haley reached for the hem of his shirt and Nathan lifted his arms up as Haley pulled it up from him. She grazed her hands across his toned chest and hard stomach and leaned in and kissed him. She unbuckled her jeans and slid them off of her.

They landed on the bed, kissing furiously as if there was no tomorrow. Haley's hands went for Nathan's basketball shorts but his hand stopped her from going further. He brushed her hair, "Tonight.. I just want to hold you.. can I hold you?" He caressed her face and she nodded.

She felt like an idiot, he had just collapsed on the court, may have possible heart condition and now she wanted him to have sex. Did she want him to have a heart attack?

Nathan reached over and turned off the lamp and Haley rested her head against the crook of his neck, her hand over his heart, listening to it beat. He put his hand over hers.

"I guess you know." Nathan said softly.

"Lucas told me.. why didn't you tell me?" She said softly.

"I didn't want to you to worry.. didn't want you to come back to me just cuz you thought I was sick."

"Nathan, I would never.."

"I know." He cut her off. "But still.. I want you to be with me because of me."

"I do .. and I want you .. all of you .. bad heart and all.." She looked at him worriedly.

"I'm going to be okay."

"How can you say that? What if the test comes back positive?"

"Then I've had it since I was born and there was nothing either of us could do to change it."

"What about basketball?"

"What about it? I have you.. that's all I need.. that's all I'll ever need." He said softly as he gently kissed her.

This time Haley couldn't hold back her emotions. "I could've lost you tonight." She said softly as more tears came.

"Hey.." He pulled her closer. "Look, I'm going to be fine.. Lucas too.. I'm not going anywhere Hales."

She looked up at him, the tears still falling for her best friend and her true love. "Face it James.. you're stuck with me."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She buried her face against his neck and hugged him tighter. She was still crying but she felt a million times better now that he was with her. He held her tightly and rubbed her back until she stopped crying and eventually she drifted off to sleep. Nathan looked down on her sleeping form. She looked so beautiful, peaceful. It helped him relax.

Nathan still had to face his HCM results and so did Lucas. He hoped Lucas was okay too but frankly, he didn't care about if he had HCM anymore. A lifetime of taking medication sure as hell beats a life with out Haley. With Haley wrapped safely in his arms, his heart was already complete and no genetic disorder could ever change that.

To Be Continued . . . .

:sigh: .. ::tear:: .. please review!!


	35. Chapter 35

Winners and Losers

Chapter 35

Thank you all for the reviews! I'm glad that you enjoyed Naley finally getting back together. I'm sorry to say that this is the last chapter and followed by the epilogue. I'll have more to say about this story then. Thank you again so much and please please review !!!

I had mixed feelings about last episode, although overall I did enjoy it. I'm getting a little tired of Leyton and Peyton's ugly wig last night was seriously bothering me to no end. I thought it would've been nice if Lucas worked on the car with Jamie and Nathan, I think it would've been another good bonding moment. Also, why is Skills hanging around Jamie so much and why the hell is Jamie going to a dance? I though that whole thing was so stupid, I didn't even go to my first dance until I was in the 6th grade.. end of my 6th grade. I think that storyline would've worked better if it was one of Jamie's friends birthdays and that their parents wanted it to be all formal and stuff and Jamie's teacher would also be there. I think that would've made a lot more sense. Please stop trying to age Jamie, he's like 5 going on 16. I think Jamie's success on the show is started to affect it, at first he was cute and all, but now I think there are spending a little too much time on him and giving him situations that are really beyond what he should be dealing with. This whole dance thing to me was stupid. His previous storylines about getting to know Dan and getting bullied and stuff worked well for him, keep him there and away from girls. I mean I know he's Nathan son and all but please. I really like Victoria, she's like the female Dan, you just love to hate her although Sam is wearing thin on me sometimes. I like how Haley is branching out into other aspects in music, it was nice to see her doing something on her own for once. Mia and Chase are "ehh." I liked Chase better with Brooke, I don't understand why Mia's love interest had to be Chase. Nathan's storyline is getting a little too predictable although I thought the Euro thing was interesting, def. something different. It's nice to see Nathan being so mature and stuff but I really want him to be a little jerk sometimes, lol. We didn't get too much Naley but I did like how Nathan talked to Haley and how Haley is supporting him. Likewise, I totally didn't expect to see another massage scene but hey, I'll definitely take it. It was too short in my opinion, but Haley rubbing Nathan down is always nice to see. I just love their physical intimacy and seeing Haley rub down his arms and then Nathan taking a hold of her hand and kissing it and keeping it close to him shows just how much he loves, needs, wants Haley.

I'm not going to lie, I'm a big OTH fan but I really felt like this 2nd half of the season dragged while the start was very good. I do hope Leyton does come back, the show wouldn't be the same without them plus I love the brother's relationship. If they do come back, it'd be interesting because they would have to add another baby on the list on top of Jamie already there. I think a little time jump wouldn't hurt, I mean Jackson is 8 playing a 5 year old. But I think Brooke will have a solid storyline next season now that Julian is a regular and if Victoria stays around then it would be interesting. I could see Haley taking over peyton at the recording studio and I just hope they give something a little more for Nathan. As for Naley, I'm not sure but some more passion in their relationship would be nice. I would also like more interaction with the characters. Anyways enough rant, enjoy !

. . . .

Haley's eyes fluttered open, the most incredible feeling washing over her. She was confused and dazed and the harsh morning sun forced her to close her eyes shut. Regaining some of her senses, she could clearly feel someone's hands on her thighs, parting them even further while someone's tongue flicked over her. She gasped and let out a small moan.

She looked down and saw Nathan's head buried in between her legs. He looked up at her, an eat-shitting grin across his face. His deep blue eyes locked with her and she could see the fire and passion radiating through them. He licked his lips and just as quickly went back to work. She gasped again, this was definitely the way to wake up.

She was still a little out of it but the events of last night came pouring back to her. She remembered the game, the collapse, Nathan coming over. The last thing she remembered was being wrapped in his arms, crying like a baby. They were tears of sadness but also tears of joy. She cried for Nathan as well as for Lucas. They both have been through so much and she knew how each of them loved the game. If either of them had HCM, then that would be the end of their basketball careers. When Lucas told her about it, she could tell that he was scared shit over what would happen. Lucas was finally coming out of the shadows of his father's past and emerging as his own man especially on the court. Things were finally going well for him and at the pace he was going, he could probably play college ball as well.

Nathan was a different story. She knew basketball was his life but yet it wasn't. He told her that. When he told her that it didn't matter if he had HCM, that she was the only one he needed. Well that warmed her heart and made her love him even more. It also terrified her that she could've also lost him last night and that he would never know how much he means to her. Being wrapped up in his arms, she still didn't know why she was crying. She no longer would be sad, whatever happens happens, but one thing was for sure, Nathan would always be by her side. It was a calming thought and eventually she drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

That was until now.

His calloused hands grabbed her thighs harder and forced her to open up even further, Nathan's tongue going even deeper. She could already see his hand print lingering on her thighs for hours to come. She was practically screaming at this point and it only spurred Nathan further. She was so close now and in her dazed status she grabbed the back of his head, digging her fingers through his dark hair and pushing him even further. She pumped her hips into him and he grabbed her ass, pushing her further to him. She was practically flying off the bed. His tongue was relentless and furious and with one last moan, she screamed his name.

Haley lied there, recovering from her high. She felt Nathan's hand tracing her side while he left hot open kisses from her navel to her neck. A minute later, he was hovering over her, a playful smile across his face.

"Good Morning." She said softly.

"Good morning indeed." Nathan chuckled and Haley wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down and the two shared a gentle kiss.

"That's one way to wake a girl up." She smiled as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.

"Oh did I wake you?" He teased.

"I think you did more than that." She teased back and he laughed and rolled over to his side. Pulling her to him, now she was on top of him. "I could stay here all day." He said.

"I'm sure everyone's looking for you." She said softly as her fingers danced across his chest.

"Yeah." He said regretfully.

When he woke up this morning, he felt more alive than he ever did. Forget the pills he took, or the possibility of HCM, he was back with the love of his life and nothing felt so good. Last night, he just wanted to hold her and be close to her. Sex was only one aspect of their relationship, but there was more to them than that. He loved the girl, it was as simple and complicated as that. When he woke up and saw her sleeping peacefully against him, he couldn't help himself, he had to touch her, kiss her.. taste her.

"I just want to stay like this a little while longer." He added.

"Well, I guess we could wait.. I mean, we can have breakfast first."

"Hmm.. breakfast sounds good." He said as he placed another kiss on her lips. "What're you in the mood for?"

She gave him an evil grin and then whispered in his ears. " Sausage."

His eyes shot wide open and blood headed south. She smirked to herself as she grabbed a hold of his length. She quickly kissed her way down his chest before swallowing whole. Haley smiled to herself, this was going to be the best breakfast she ever had.

. . . . .

"You're early." Nathan said as he walked towards Lucas.

"Yeah.. I'm a little anxious." Lucas said as he ran over to pick up the basketball and resumed shooting around.

"Yeah." Nathan nodded.

Nathan watched Lucas take another shot and then walked over to Nathan.

"You have it?"

Nathan reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small white envelope.

"Where's yours?" Nathan asked.

Lucas nodded over to the stands, where Nathan saw the envelope safely secured underneath Lucas' keys. Nathan walked over to it, putting his envelope underneath Lucas'.

"I thought Haley would be here by now." Nathan said.

"My mom called, they got busy tonight so she should be here in a little bit."

Lucas was nervous. After Nathan's collapse last week, he had no choice but to tell his mom about the HCM. She was mad to say the least, keeping something like this from her but she understood. She begged him to open up his results already but Lucas stalled. He wasn't ready for that yet and after an intense argument, Karen finally gave in and allowed Lucas to stall only until Nathan got his results back too. So now they were both at the Rivercourt waiting for Haley to get out of her shift. It seemed only right for her to be there when she found out, actually both brothers wanted her to open it. They didn't think they could stomach it. If it was bad news, they'd rather hear it from her instead of reading it themselves. Nathan also had an earful from his mom, not only about delaying the test but taking enhancement pills. She even went so far as to schedule an appointment with a psychologist, which Nathan reluctantly went. It was a one time dumb ass move, which he wasn't going to do it again.

"Okay good." Nathan said. "I actually wanted to show you something before she got here." Nathan took a seat and Lucas sat next to him. Nathan reached into his front pocket and pulled out a small diamond ring and held it up in front of Lucas.

Lucas stared at it for a second.

"What.. what the hell is that?"

"It's a ring retard.. stop squinting so you can take a good look at it." Nathan huffed. Lucas glared at him for a second before snatching the ring from him.

"I know that you idiot.. I mean.. what're you doing with it?"

"What do you think?" Nathan rolled his eyes.

"You can't be serious… you're still in high school.. shit.. we're not even seniors yet."

"I know that Einstein.. it's not like I'm asking her to marry me now."

"_Yeah right_." Lucas deadpanned. He was happy for Haley, actually happy for both of them to finally be back together. When he saw them together, he could tell how much in love they were. In fact, the whole cuddling and touching he saw was making him sick. They were so blissfully in love that it reminded him that he was not and he was a little jealous. He hoped one day to find someone he loved with that much passion.

"Whatever.. I already know I'm going to spend my life with her.. she knows it too.. this is just a formality.. we probably get married after college or something."

"Then why show me this now?"

"Well her parents are away cuz her sister just had twins and they're helping out .. and none of her siblings are around.."

"So you're asking for my permission?" Lucas smirked.

"No." Nathan said a little too quickly.

"_Right._" Lucas smirked. "Just know that if you break her heart.."

"Yeah yeah I know.. you'll _try _and break my face."

"What do you mean try?"

"Yeah, no way in hell you can get one pass me." Nathan smirked back.

"Ass." Lucas responded and held the ring in his hands and took the time to study it. It wasn't too flashy or ornate but it carried it's own charm. It was elegant, simple, beautiful, a perfect compliment to Haley.

"It's nice." Lucas said a second later.

"Thanks.. it was my grandmother's.." Nathan swallowed his throat. "umm… our grandmother."

"Oh." Lucas nodded. He offered the ring back to Nathan, but Nathan shook his head.

"No.. I need you to keep it."

"Keep it?"

"Yeah.. there's actually a favor I need from you."

"Oh?"

"So Haley told me about this thing you guys do each year."

. . . . . .

Walking towards the River Court, Haley could see the lights and the sound of feet running, the ball dribbling. It was a familiar site, Nathan and Lucas playing a game of one on one. She shook her head, remembering the last time they played against each other. Offering herself to Nathan so that he would lose against Lucas, it wasn't one of her finest moments but she was happy she went through with it anyway. There were enough secrets and lying and she knew eventually everything had to come out.

Back then they were both out for blood but this time was completely different. There wasn't a big crowd or anything at stake, here they were just two people, two brothers playing a game. She could hear the trash talking but also the playfulness and laughter behind it. It tugged at her heart. She knew that if they could get to know each other that things would be different. She wished it happened under different circumstances but after what all of them went through, to see them like this, well it was all worth it. They were so into the game that they didn't notice her sneak up. She stayed at the sidelines, not wanting to disturb them but just watch. This could be very well be one of the last few times either of them could play so carefree.

The ball went out of bounce and rolled towards her. She finally stepped out from the shadows and made her presence known.

"Hales.." Nathan's face lighted up.

"Nathan." Haley smiled back and wrapped her arms around his sweaty frame. "Hello."

She kissed him on the lips.

"Hello." He kissed her back.

"Hey Hales.." Lucas said coming up from behind.

"Hey Luke." Haley waved at him.

"What.. I get no hug?"

"You're all sweaty." Haley scrunched her face.

"But so is Nathan."

"But that's how she likes it." Nathan smirked and Haley playfully slapped Nathan's side, while Lucas rolled his eyes but Nathan just laughed and grabbed her arm and pulled her back in and gave her another kiss.

"Ahem.." Lucas cleared his throat.

Haley pulled back. "Oh yeah.. sorry."

"I'm not." Nathan smirked back.

"Anyways.." Haley rolled her eyes playfully. "It's good to see you guys playing.."

"Yeah.. I hope you enjoyed seeing me kick Nathan's ass."

"Whatever man.. you had nothing on me."

Haley shook heard and smiled. "Well what's the score? Who's winning?"

Both brothers looked at each other, a sense of confusion in their eyes.

"Actually.. what was the score?" Lucas asked.

"Umm.. yeah .. wait.. I don't know either.." Nathan scratched his head.

"Nathan kept talking smack.. I guess I lost count on how many baskets I scored."

"How hard is it to remember one?" Nathan shot back.

"I had more than one."

"Fine two." Nathan rolled his eyes and Haley laughed, leaning in closer to Nathan.

"Play nice boys… why don't you call it a tie?" Haley spoke up amused.

"Tie?" Lucas scoffed. "I won."

"No I did."

Haley smiled watching the banter between the two of them. It was clear that brothers were just shooting around, not even bothering to keep score but just enjoying the moment. She felt like crying now, seeing how far these two have come.

A moment later, they were by the stands with Lucas and Nathan nervously looking on.

"Might as well get this over with." Nathan said.

"Yeah, Hales.. just open it." Lucas added.

Haley shook her head, she didn't know why she agreed to do this but she was honored nonetheless. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. They were depending on her now and no way would she let them down. Nervously, she opened the envelopes up, looking at Lucas' results and then Nathan's.

"Well?" Lucas asked after Haley still hadn't said anything.

"Yeah, Hales…"

She put the papers down and smiled. "I guess both of you came out as winners." She let out a cry eagerly pulled the two brothers in a hug.

"See, told you she was into both of them." Brooke snorted as her and Peyton came walking up, seeing Haley plus Scotts in an embrace.

"Kinky." Peyton laughed.

The three turned around with a disgusted look on their face.

"So everything is good?" Peyton hoped.

"You better believe it." Nathan smirked as he put his arm around Haley. Peyton and Brooke squealed, happy that Nathan and Lucas were going to be okay.

. . . .

"What're we doing here?" Nathan asked mused, as Haley led him up the stairs and outside onto the roof.

"Well, I told you .. I wanted to show you my predictions .. especially now that that the school year is over." Haley said as she walked over to a nearby wall and pulled out a brick and took out a small tin box.

"Now usually I do this with Lucas but he's suddenly MIA but I wanted to share my predictions with you."

"Is this the part where you made a prediction last year about getting straight A's and now you want to prove me that you were right?" Nathan teased.

"Haha.. funny.. even though that was one of my predictions .. I actually.." She paused when she opened the box and found a small velvet bag with a note attached.

"Nathan's prediction." She read aloud. "Nathan what is this?"

"See.. I had my own prediction this year too." Nathan smirked.

"Nathan.. I .. how did you?" Haley was confused.

"I asked Lucas."

"Oh."

"Now go ahead and read it."

"Me?"

"Yeah." Nathan urged.

She gave him a pointed look and then opened the note up and started to read it aloud.

"_One day, I am going to ask Haley James to marry me_." Haley read a loud and choked on her words. She then looked over to Nathan who was already on his knees.

"Nathan.. what.. what're you doing?"

He took her hand and the small velvet bag. He opened it up and pulled out a diamond ring.

"Oh my God.." Haley gasped as tears started to fill my eyes.

"See I had my own predictions too and ever since I met you all those years ago.. I knew that we would always be together.. and I know it's not going to be easy and I know we're young and still have to finish school.. but I want the whole world to know that I love you.. and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.. so what do you say Haley James.. will you marry me?" Nathan held up the ring.

Haley covered her mouth with her hands, the tears freely flowing. She couldn't even trust herself to speak. Nathan looked up at her, eagerly awaiting her answer. He started to curse to himself when she didn't say anything. He knew this was too soon, but then she started to nod.

"Is that.. is that a yes?" Nathan asked nervously.

Haley nodded her head even more. "Yes! YES!!" She finally found her voice and Nathan sighed a breath of relieve and placed the ring on her finger. Bringing her close to him, he held her tight.

"I love you Nathan Scott." She looked up into his big blue eyes and saw nothing but happiness, a life with him complete with a house, kids, pets, family friends. She saw everything in him. Nathan couldn't wait another second and leaned down and kissed her with all the love and passion he had for her.

Finally pulling away, Nathan muttered against her lips. "I love you, Haley James."

Haley shook her head.

"It's Haley James.. Haley James-Scott."

"Damn straight." Nathan smiled even wider. "I love the sound of that."

"I love saying it." Haley said back and the two shared another kiss.

They pulled apart when they heard a knock on the door.

"I guess she said yes." Lucas smiled.

"B.I.L.!" Haley ran over to him and hugged him tight.

"B.I.L.?" Lucas questioned.

"Brother in-law." Haley smiled.

"Oh God." Lucas rolled his eyes. "We're going to be related. . you're such a loser." Lucas playfully teased.

"You're the loser!" Haley playfully stuck out her tongue.

"Hey!" Nathan walking up behind Haley and wrapping his arms around her. "Save that tongue for later." Nathan wiggled his eyes and Haley blushed. Lucas scrunched his face, afraid his lunch would make a reappearance. "As far as I'm concerned, we're all winners here." He smiled and looked down at his now, fiancé and gave her a kiss on top of her forehead. "Well, maybe except you, Luke.." Nathan added and smirked.

Lucas shook his head and smiled at the happy couple, hoping to be as happy as them one day. Nathan was right, it was a long road, but in the end, they all came out on top.

The End

Epilogue to follow.. please review !! :)


	36. Epilogue

Winners and Losers

Epilogue

Once again, thank you all for your kind reviews and words of encouragement. I really enjoyed writing this story. I'm very happy with it, although I felt that I did stray a little bit with my original idea and I think the story did suffer a little but I'm still pleased with how everything turned out. When I first wrote this, I thought it'd be a good one shot with potential. I knew that if I was going to continue that it would be a little darker, more mature. I also wanted to keep Nathan an ass to Lucas because as much as I love Nathan now, I can't help but miss the badboy in him. Another reason I wanted to write this story because this was the first one I wrote that had some mysterious backstory between Naley and I wanted to write a story about that. Another key aspect to this story was the brother's aspect and I am very happy about how it turned about between Lucas and Nathan. This was also the first story where the main characters were Nathan, Haley and Lucas and the relationships between the three of them. This last chapter is set in the future just highlights everything I wanted to show in this story. This chapter is rated M and can also stand as a sort of one shot as well. I have some comments about the show which may contain minor spoilers for season 7 so don't read them if you don't want to know.

As many of you have heard, Chad and Hilarie are gone and I am completely devestated over this. I think the show could've done with out Hilarie but Lucas is such an integral part of the show and it really revolves around him and Nathan. I have a feeling that if Chad's directing and writing debut went better than, he would've been more inclined to stay. There's so many stories around that I don't know what to believe. Did Hilarie want to leave or because she was with Lucas then she had to go as well. Did Chad want to leave as well or what because that youtube video of him seemed like he really wanted to stay. Besides the fact that they are leaving, it's how they are leaving too. I'm not sure if it's on good terms, especially on Chad's part. I hoped they ended things amicably and no bad blood in between. I can understand both Chad and Hilarie doing other things, but I pray to God that the bridges haven't been burned. There's a strong possibility that next season could be it, especially if the audience doesn't embrace the show once LP are gone, and I would love it to end with the original 5 there.

I'm a true OTH fan, especially since Naley will still be there and I hope someone over there at the CW reads this because this is what I think needs to happen in order for the show to stay viable.

- Keep the focus on the remaining core 3, we had to many sideplots with other characters who we don't even really like. Victoria and Brooke, good.. Sam and Brooke, ok .. Sam and Jack, I'm over it.. Skills and the teacher, boring, Mouth/Millie.. get away! Get the point ! lol

- I think Brooke is the only character that will have really good storylines for her, with Julian and Victoria around. I liked Sam but didn't love her so she can stay away too.

- Please give something else for Nathan to do besides basketball.

- Let Haley take over for Peyton. I think the addition of her sister Quinn will be good for her character, especially since she's a relative. We haven't seen anyone from the James' clan since season 2, just don't make here a rehash of Taylor, we already seen how long she stuck around. And please don't let her seduce Nathan, it's been done!

- Turn Naley into nymphs. Let's face it, look at how many people were so eager for them to get it on. James and Joy are very gorgeous attractive people and them together is hot on the screen.

- The other new female character sounds a lot like Rachel, why not bring Rachel back. Shoot instead of this clayton guy, why not let Jake be Nathan's agent. With Leyton gone, they'll be a huge hole to fill and instead of getting us to like new characters, why not bring the beloved side characters back. It'll bring some sort of "normalcy" back to OTH.

Sorry for the long rant. I was only able to proofread once, sorry for any garammar and spelling mistakes. Enjoy and please review !!!

. . . . .

"Sit still.. you want to be the second best looking guy in this church, don't cha?" Lucas asked as he continued to adjust his young nephew's bow tie.

"Second best?" Nathan scoffed as he entered the room.

"Daddy!!" Young James Lucas Scott shouted eagerly and practically bolted from his chair to run into the awaiting arms of his father.

"Hey!" Nathan smiled widely as he eagerly scooped up his young son from the ground and easily carried him with one arm.

"Jamie's gonna be the man.. I'm going to be the second best.. you'll be lucky to make the top ten Luke." Nathan teased.

"Thanks.." Lucas rolled his eyes.

Nathan turned his attention back to his young son. "Come here." Nathan hugged his son. "I love you boy .. how much you grown this past week? A foot?"

Jamie just shrugged. "I don't know .. Aunt Karen didn't even know me".

Nathan smiled as he put his son back down. He could've killed Skills for organizing a week long bachelor party. It meant one week with out seeing his son and more importantly his wife.

"Oh and daddy .. did you see mama.. she looked _pretty_?"

Nathan smiled even wider. "I'll bet."

"Well you know the drill right.. you're going to walk down the isle and when you get to me, you're going to give me these two rings." Nathan took out the small velvet box and showed the rings.

"Whoaa.. treasure!!" Jamie's eyes went wide.

"Nice huh and worth all the money in the world, so when I give it you, don't lose 'em .. cuz your Uncle Lucas can't finish his second book and he's poor."

"I'm sorry your poor Uncle Lucas." Jamie said apologetically.

Lucas tried to keep his smile. "Thanks Jamie."

"And I'm sorry Daddy always keeps beating you in basketball .. and NBA Live .."

"I get it James!" Lucas cut him off, much to Nathan's dismay.

Nathan smirked and Lucas gave him a dirty look.

"Hey Daddy, when you married momma, was it your best day ever?" Jamie asked eagerly and Nathan couldn't help but admire the innocent curious look his son had in his eyes. Nathan thought back to Jamie's question and smiled.

"_Nathan, I'm slipping, you're gonna drop me!"_

"_Drop you? If I wanted to, I could shoot you across this room like a three pointer." _

_Haley simply laughed as she tightened her grip around Nathan's neck, while he carried her down the hall._

"_You want me to try?"_

"_Don't you dare!" Haley warned._

_Nathan reached the door and pushed open their apartment door, which was walking distance to Duke campus._

"_Now, since I couldn't get the fancy honeymoon suite… I figured I could, you know, at least carry you across the threshold." _

_Nathan set her down gently and Haley instantly gasped. She was struck with awe at the sight before her. There were candles everywhere, including a trail that led across the floor towards the bedroom, with white rose petals strewn about. _

"_Oh my god!" Haley put her hands to her mouth, trying to suppress her tears of joy. _

" _I wanted everything to be perfect. I know you didn't get your dream wedding, or your dream honeymoon-" Nathan trailed off. They thought they'd wait longer to get married, like after college but faith had a different plan for them. They knew they couldn't waste a single second trying to deny what they already felt in their hearts. They were already man and wife from the moment Nathan proposed to her but at least today, it was finally legal. _

"_I got my dream guy."_

"_Well, yeah, you did get that" Nathan smirked as he kissed her._

_Haley rolled her eyes playfully. "Be glad you're hot."_

_Nathan laughed. "So are you." He pulled her towards her and squeezed her ass. _

_Haley took his hand as she led him to the bedroom. Reading the sign at the door._

"_Honeymoon suite, huh? Nathan this is so beautiful, thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. It didn't take long for the kiss to intensify. Nathan kicked the door closed, knocking the sign outside the door to the ground._

_Her hands were everywhere, desperately trying to get his shirt off. Nathan broke the kiss for a second so he can remove his shirt, while Haley made quick work of his pants. Slipping his boxers down, Haley gasped as she saw that Nathan was fully ready and willing. She could never get tired of his body, Nathan oozed sex and he was all hers. She squeezed his hard length and slowly pumped him while she left hot open kisses down his neck, through his chest and onto his rock hard abs. _

_Nathan moaned in appreciation as he let his wife, he loved saying that, take the reigns. Haley got down on her knees and grabbed the base of his length and in one swift motion she swallowed as much as she could of him. Nathan gasped out loud, the feel of her lips around him and her tongue teasing his shaft was driving him crazy. _

"_Fuck!" He muttered as he tried to calm himself down. She grabbed his firm ass for support while she ruthlessly bobbed her head up and down. _

"_Fuck Hales!" Nathan moaned again as he threw his head back. He was so close now but didn't want it to end. He put his hands on the back of her head, in an attempt to get her off of him but she only continued to go down faster. Loosing all his free will, he gripped the back of her head and rocked his hips towards her. He was at the point of no return as he jerked his hips forward and exploded into her.. _

"_Haley!! Ahh!" _

_Nathan placed his hand against the edge of the bed in an attempt to steady himself. That was by far the best head he had ever had. Haley gave him one more lick down before standing back up, licking her lips to get the excess dribble._

_Nathan inwardly groaned and immediately grew rock hard again. Haley smirked to herself, Nathan always did have a quick turn around rate. Nathan's eyes went dark as he grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed. He kissed her hard as he unhooked her dress. _

"_Baby.." Haley muttered against his lips as she gently pushed him off her. Nathan complied and moved back to let Haley slip her dress off. He was one second away from ripping the offensive garment off but it was her wedding dress, something she would always want to keep so he held back. She shimmied the dress off of her, leaving her clad in a white silk bra and matching bottom with lace. _

_Haley removed the clip from her hair and let her dark golden locks fall down her shoulder. Giving her head a shake, she then reached behind her and unhooked her bra, tossing it aside. Nathan licked his lips, his girl had a serious rack. _

"_I think someone is ready for their wedding present." Haley said mischievously, as she traced a finger in between her breasts, down her smooth stomach and then playing with the hem of her underwear. _

"_Oh I'm ready.." He said huskily, as he gave himself a few strokes and then leaned forward and kissed his wife. His hands roamed her side as he left a trail of kisses down her neck and then expertly sucking on each of her breasts. He kneeled on the floor as his hands gripped her underwear and he slowly pealed them off. _

_Nathan gasped aloud once the garment was removed and tossed to the other side of the room. Haley propped herself on her elbows and spread her legs wide. _

"_You like?" She sounded a little unsure as she looked down on Nathan._

_Nathan was beside himself, on the upper most part of her right thigh was a tattoo of the number "2" and on her left thigh the number "3" and in between was Haley's holy grail. _

_Nathan couldn't form the words, he was so mesmerized. He didn't think she could get any more sexier, especially since she decided to go Brazilian last month, but this, this was a completely different level. She was his now, his jersey number permanently stamped onto her body for his eyes only, _always and forever_. _

_Haley was about to speak again when Nathan dove in, running his mouth through each number before plunging in between her thighs. Haley gasped aloud as his tongue flicked over her bundle of nerves. "Ahh!" She moaned as Nathan's tongue ruthlessly attacked her. He hit her off with such speed and passion, it threw her for a loop and it didn't take long before she was screaming his name while he lapped up her juices. Coming down from her high, Haley laid her head back but Nathan didn't waste anytime as he aligned himself at her entrance and plunged himself in._

_He leaned forward and grunted into her ear as pumped faster into her, "I love it." _

Lucas whacked the back of Nathan's head. "Get your mind off the gutter." Lucas shook his head, he'd recognize that look on Nathan's face and it was something he didn't care for him seeing. He was still in denial that his brother and best friend are intimate with each other. He slept better at night convincing himself that Jamie was miraculously conceived.

Nathan turned around and glared at his brother. "And risk the chance of not giving you another nephew or a niece?" Nathan grinned.

Nathan bent down and looked back to his son, while he helped put Jamie's black shoes on.

"Actually my best day ever was a little bit over 9 months after the day we got married." Nathan answered Jamie's previous question.

"How come?"

"Well because that was the day you were born." Nathan smiled proudly. Jamie smiled as he accepted his dad's answer.

"No lace them up.. chop chop." Nathan ordered. He got up and faced his brother.

"Got any intel on my girl?"

"She's barricaded in the bride's suite with my fiancé. They won't let me in." Lucas pouted.

Nathan laughed. "Well of course you can't go in."

There was a knock on the door and Nathan and Lucas whipped their heads to see who it was.

"Flowers for the bride." The deliver guy announced but all he saw the two brothers. "Who apparently is not here.. sorry guys."

"I'll take them!" Both brothers said as the same time.

. . . .

"Nathan go away.. I'm bringing these flowers so why don't you go and make sure everything is set for the ceremony." Lucas said annoyed as he walked down the hall.

"Over my dead body.. I haven't seen my wife for a week." Nathan walked with him. "Do you have any idea how blue my balls are." He tried to say in a low voice.

"I thought basketballs were orange." Jamie looked up curiously.

"Not those balls." Nathan quickly answered.

"You're horrible, you know that." Lucas laughed and shook his head.

Growing annoyed, Nathan placed his foot out and Lucas nearly tripped. Stealing himself, Nathan grabbed the flowers and made a bee line to the bridal suite.

"Stay with your Uncle Lucas!" Nathan ordered Jamie as he sped down the hall.

Lucas shook his head as he got back up. He looked down and saw Jamie's staring up at him. Everyone always commented on how he and Jamie looked so much alike, especially with their dark sandy blond hair, but anyone who was close to the Scotts and looked into Jamie's big blue eyes, there was no doubt that he was Nathan's son.

"What it is buddy?"

"Does this mean that Daddy isn't playing basketball anymore?" Jamie asked with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Why do you say that?" Lucas bent down a bit and placed a hand on his shoulders.

"When we played dodge ball last week at school we used blue balls because the orange ones are only for basketball."

Trying to keep a straight face, "No Jamie, your daddy will still be playing basketball."

"Are you sure?" Jamie didn't sound convinced.

Lucas was going to kill Nathan for what he was going to say next. "Don't worry about your daddy's balls .. your mom can take care of that."

"Because she cleans them." Jamie replied. Haley was always a germ-phobe and she always wiped down Jamie's toys with anti-bacterial clothes to as Haley called it, "prevent the germs."

Lucas shuddered at the thought. "God I hope not." He muttered.

. . . .

A pair of arms snaked up around her, she inhaled his scent and immediately knew it was him. She turned around in his arms and kissed him on the lips.

"I've missed you." Haley said against his lips.

"I've missed you too." Nathan kissed back. "I got these for you." Nathan said as grabbed the flowers.

Haley laughed. "Cute.. but I think these are for the bride." Haley said as she took the flowers and set them back down at a nearby table.

"Come here." Nathan growled as he pulled his wife back to him. Giving her a deep kiss, he pulled back and looked into her deep brown eyes.

"Hello."

Haley blushed, she couldn't believe he could still do that after all these years. "Hello… where's the boy?"

"With his Uncle Lucas… you know when Jamie said you looked pretty.. he was wrong."

Haley looked at him curiously.

"You're stunning Hales, absolutely beautiful." He kissed the top of her head.

"Well I got Clothes over Bro's to thank for that." Haley showcased her short black bridesmaids dress.

"Yeah.. let's hope Brooke designed it so I can have easy access during the reception." Nathan wiggled his eyes and Haley laughed and playfully punched his shoulder. Thanks to Nathan's help back in high school, Brooke Davis made her splash into the fashion world and although she didn't win Rogue Vogue, she made a lot of contacts who eventually led her to an internship at Teen Vogue, where she worked the ranks and hooked up with several business partners. It didn't take long for her to leave Teen Vogue and launch her own successful line of clothes. She found it ironic that she was designing the bride's dress and the bride's maids dresses since she had a huge crush on Lucas back in high school. But after a few dates, they realized they were better as friends and stayed pretty close over the years.

"Down boy.. they'll be plenty of time for hot slutty wedding sex later." Haley winked.

"I heard that!" Brooke said as she walked into the room and Haley turned even redder.

"Keep that up and I might be a godmother again." She looked over to Nathan. "Don't worry, the fabric is stretchable." She winked at him.

Nathan smiled. "Thank you Brooke Davis."

"You can thank me by finally telling me where Haley's tramp stamp is?" Brooke crossed her arms.

Haley turned even redder and Nathan just laughed. "Sorry.. for my eyes only."

"I knew it!" Brooke gasped. Haley shook her head, Brooke was never going to let that one go.

. . . . .

Lucas looked out on the dance floor and watched his brother and Haley slow dancing.

"Mr. Scott?"

Lucas wrapped his arm around his new bride. "Mrs. Scott." Lucas kissed Peyton's temple. Peyton leaned in against Lucas and followed his gaze towards Nathan and Haley.

"Their so in love." She commented.

"I know.. it's freakishly weird .. and sweet."

Peyton giggled.

"I was always jealous of Nathan.."

"Because of Dan?"

"At first .. I always thought he had everything .. but seeing him with Haley and Jamie.. I knew that he really does have everything."

"But you have me." Peyton pouted.

Lucas gave her a big smile. "And I can't wait to start a family of our own .. a little boy who Jamie can play basketball with."

"We can call him Sawyer!"

"Cute..' Lucas deadpanned. He could already hear his brother now, saying how he copied them when they named Jamie after Haley's family.

"Dance with me." Peyton led Lucas to the dance floor.

On the other side of the dancefloor, Dan came walking towards Nathan and Haley with a sleeping Jamie in tow.

"The little man is out." Dan said as he handed Jamie over to Nathan. Nathan took him in his arms and Jamie instinctively wrapped his tiny arms around his daddy's neck and rested his head on his shoulders. Haley smiled to herself, Jamie practically worshipped the ground his dad walked on. She was so proud of Nathan for setting a good example for Jamie to follow, well _most of the time_.

"Thanks Dad, are you and mom heading out?"

"Yeah soon.. we're going to say bye to Lucas.. bye Haley."

"Bye."

Dan walked over to where Lucas and Peyton were dancing. They shook hands and said a cordial goodbye before Dan took off. After Dan's heart attack, the damage was much greater than the doctor's first anticipated and it took a while before Dan was back on his feet. With Haley by his side and a new brother with Lucas, Nathan had the strength to stand up to Dan and call him out on all the horrible things he did, not only to him but to Lucas. Nathan basically cut him off from his life and it was during this time that Dan had a lot of time to think and he tried his best to make amends with both his sons. Their relationship with their dad remained icy until Jamie was born. There was no point in continuing the Scott Legacy of father versus son, so both parties gave it another go. Dan and Nathan got along, mostly for Jamie's sake. Lucas and Dan was another story. Although Lucas had forgiven Dan for his mistakes, he could not forget them and the two shared a civil relationship with Lucas still calling his father by his name. Dan just hoped that Lucas would give him the same courtesy as Nathan did with Jamie when Lucas had kids of his own.

"What?" Nathan asked Haley who was looking at him intently.

"Just admiring my two favorite guys."

"Don't tell that to Lucas.. he'd feel hurt."

Haley laughed as she leaned back into her husband, the small family dancing slowly to the soft music.

The song ended and they knew it was time to take Jamie to bed. They said their goodbyes to Lucas and Peyton and Lucas watched happily as the young family made their way upstairs to their hotel suite. He looked back down at his new bride and smiled, now he finally had it all too.

. . . .

Nathan kicked off his shoes and with Jamie still firmly planted on his shoulder, he laid down on the bed.

"You were supposed to get him changed." Haley said as she kicked off her heals and removed her earrings.

"The little guy won't let go of me." Nathan smiled as he looked down on his young son, "I guess he really takes after his mommy." Nathan teased. Haley gave him a mock glare before joining him on the bed and snuggling up next to him.

With one arm around Jamie, he took his other arm and brought his wife closer to him. She snuggled up against his chest and Nathan savored moments like these when it was just the three of them.

"My girl was dirty tonight." Nathan smirked, remembering their little encounter in the women's bathroom.

"I was not… okay maybe a little." She playfully bit his chin.

Nathan laughed. "I like it though."

"I bet."

"But I love this better." He added.

"Good save."

"I missed you two so much." Nathan said sincerely and Haley's heart melted. It was already tough enough with his schedule, this was the first time in a long time that Nathan was gone for more than 3 days and it killed them both.

"How was the bachelor party?"

"You mean the week long spring break." Nathan was the best man and he couldn't believe he let Skills take control of the Bachelor Party.

"Yeah that one." Haley said sarcastically.

"Partying every night.. all these hot chicks.. which was a problem because none of them was you."

"You are just on fire with these comebacks." Haley smiled as she rubbed her hands across Nathan's chest.

"You haven't even seen my A-game."

"Lord, help me if that's true!" Haley laughed and she leaned up and the two shared a deep kiss.

"You guys are kissing again!" Jamie yawned as his little eyes fluttered open, his parents just laughed.

Jamie soon fell back asleep and so did Haley. Nathan held them closer in his arms, enjoying the moment too much for him to go to sleep. The days on road were rough and being away from his family killed him every time he left. He knew in his heart that he couldn't go on like this anymore. He already made his basketball dreams come true, had more than enough money to live comfortably. He'd consider making the next season or the one after that his last. He wanted to spend more time with Haley and Jamie and fulfilling their wishes of having more children.

He looked back on tonight and never thought this day would come. Ask him years ago and he would've laughed, the idea of him being the best man to Lucas and Dan actually being there to witness it. He would've thought you were crazy, but him being with Haley. That was something he was always sure of. He didn't know it then but he fell in love with her that day on the beach when they were kids. It was why they got married there and why they would go there most weekends with Jamie to his parents beach house, while they swam, played in the sand and collected sea shells. He thought back to that night in the River Court, the only time where he purposely threw a game. He lost that night but gained so much more after that. In the end, he won, and won it all. He had great friends, his relationship with his parents had improved, he had his brother and now a new sister in the family, and to top it all off, a beautiful wife and an amazing son who make living each day a gift from above. Nathan closed his eyes as his tiredness started to take over, perfectly content with everything he'll ever need right here with him. In the end, they all won the game of life.

The End.

Again thank you so much for reading!! I originally wanted Lucas to be married to someone else, not Brooke or Peyton but I figured with Leyton gone, I can give it to Peyton. I wanted to end this chapter with Lucas' wedding and him looking on at Naley + Jamie and this past Monday's episode helped with giving me some extra material to work with. I pictured Jamie just like the episode where Lucas almost married Lindsey and I pictured Naley getting married sometime during college. So in this story, instead of early twenties, they are more mid twenties. I hoped you enjoyed it and please review. I'll be updating all my current stories soon and just in case you didn't know, I plan on starting the Thicker than Blood sequel next month, hopefully. Again thank you again and please leave me your thoughts.


	37. Note

Hey guys, i don't mean to give your hopes up that i wrote another chapter in this story. this story is done and i am not writing a sequel lol, but I did write a one shot that has a little bit of the same concept I used in this story. It's called "winning", you can find it under my profile, please check it out, thanks!


End file.
